


Truth of the Heart

by shadowycat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-02
Updated: 2010-10-02
Packaged: 2017-10-12 09:08:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 34,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/123249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowycat/pseuds/shadowycat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war is finally over and, to his surprise, Remus Lupin has survived, though questions about just what happened to him during the final battle haunt his dreams and his waking hours in equal measure. When he realizes that Severus Snape is also still alive, Remus knows he can't rest until he finds him. Something deep within him whispers that Severus holds the answers he needs, and only when he's face to face with him again will he be able to understand the true reason for his survival and find what's been missing from his life for far too long.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
**Chapter One**   


 

High in the wall of Hogwarts' Great Hall, just below the enchanted ceiling, was a carved frieze of intricate design. Magical creatures chased each other across its polished wooden expanse in an ever moving parade. Some of the dancing figures sparkled with reflected light while others lurked deep in the carven shadows, safely hidden from easy sight. Unknown to most of those who walked the floors below, not all the eyes that looked down from this vantage point were made of wood.

Severus Snape dragged himself deeper into the cramped recess in the wall and peered down into the Great Hall through one of the frieze's many hidden peepholes. There were still quite a few people milling around even now, hours after Potter's victory over the Dark Lord. As he watched the slow movements of the survivors, still dazed from battle and loss, the truth hit him with an almost physical force. He'd survived! For the first time in his adult life, he was finally, truly a free man.

Both of his former masters were dead, but he, by a miracle of fate and careful planning, was not. Not that they both hadn't done their best to kill him, a solid E for effort in each case. While Voldemort had attempted direct assassination, Dumbledore had preferred the more subtle approach of neglect and callous indifference to attain the same result, but he'd foiled them both in the end. Severus knew he should feel more satisfaction in that, but at the moment, it was hard to summon up the energy.

A convulsion rippled through his body, and he pressed his fingers against the bandage on his throat and closed his eyes against a sudden wave of nausea. Completely purging Nagini's venom from his system would take hours more. He knew he should find somewhere safe to rest until the antidote had done its work, but he had another task to perform first, one that couldn't wait if it was to have any chance of success. And succeed it must, if there was any earthly way he could manage it.

He opened his eyes again and looked down, scanning the huge room for casualties of the battle. Several of those below were wounded, but there were no dead bodies to be seen. Only Death Eaters and their allies still lay outside on the castle grounds. If the honored dead weren't here, then where would they be? Surely they wouldn't have taken them to the infirmary. Poppy would need those beds to treat the living. The dead had to be somewhere close by though. Perhaps one of the classrooms off the entrance hall was being used temporarily.

Severus narrowed his eyes and considered his next move. Once he performed his task, he wanted to be able to leave Hogwarts without anyone knowing he was still alive. Even though he'd given his memories to Potter, there was no guarantee the dratted boy believed them or would pass the information on to anyone else.

If he was seen, more than likely he'd be attacked without warning, and he certainly didn't want to have gone to all the trouble of thwarting the Dark Lord only to be struck down by some scared kid who still thought he was the enemy. He didn't possess the energy to conjure up a Disillusionment Charm at the moment, and Potter hadn't been thoughtful enough to leave his invisibility cloak lying around again, so he'd simply have to be extra careful. He really didn't have any other choice.

No doubt the sanest move he could make would be to sneak out the back door while everyone was licking their wounds and never look back. Yet he knew he couldn't do it. No one else knew the truth. If he didn't act, then no one would, and he'd spend the rest of his life wishing that things had been different. Enough was enough. He'd already spent far too much time regretting past actions and atoning for mistakes he never should have made; he finally had a second chance, a chance to start again, to do things right, and this was the way to begin. He had to try. He'd never rest again if he didn't. Turning away from his vantage point, he headed out of the narrow niche and began to make his way down to the ground level of the castle in search of the dead and one who, hopefully, only appeared to be dead.

~~~o~~~

Pomona Sprout encircled Molly Weasley in sympathetic arms and drew her to her feet. "You need to get some rest, Molly. Come on now." Slowly she tried to lead the distraught woman toward the door.

"No, I can't leave him here alone." Molly pushed Pomona away and turned back to the body of her son, but before she could reclaim her place at his bedside, she was engulfed in the arms of her husband.

"Pomona's right, Molly. We can't help Fred now, and you're about to collapse from exhaustion. Your own injuries need tending. He'll be all right here for awhile. He's not alone." Arthur paused with a lump in his throat to look at all the other still figures lying on tables around the room. "We'll come back soon, but now you need to rest."

Molly looked up into her husband's eyes and sniffled loudly. Unable to say anything more, she just nodded and let him lead her to the door, trailed by the rest of her family and the sad-eyed Herbology professor.

As soon as the small group closed the door, Severus slipped out from behind the drapes in a far corner of the room with a sigh of relief. He'd been standing there for almost an hour waiting for the room to empty of mourners. He should have known that the Weasleys would be the last to go, though he couldn't find it within his heart to sneer at them for it, not under current circumstances. He also shouldn't delay his own mission any longer. Someone else could come in at any moment, and the longer he waited, the more likely he was to fail. And he couldn't afford to fail, not this time.

Methodically he began to move through the room, lifting shrouds from bodies, searching for one in particular. Suddenly, he found himself staring down at a shock of bright purple hair. _Even in death Nymphadora Tonks was needlessly flamboyant,_ he thought, and felt a slight twinge of shame as the comment flew through his mind. Dropping the sheet back onto the young woman's still face, he turned and reached for the one covering the larger form lying on the table by her side. It had to be the one he sought.

[](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v132/shadowycat/?action=view&current=TotHChapterOne.jpg)

Severus stared down at Remus Lupin's pale, motionless face and a shiver passed through him. What if he was wrong? Lifting his hand, he touched the still cheek. It was warm. Warmer than it should be if the man had truly died several hours ago. Pressing his fingers to Remus' throat, he sought a pulse but found none. An ear to the werewolf's chest revealed no heartbeat, either, but the warmth remained.

Was he right? Was Remus still alive? He thought back to the conversation he'd heard just after he'd been summoned to the Shrieking Shack by the Dark Lord. The Death Eater who'd spoken had been gloatingly sure of himself. He swore he'd killed the " _Auror with the purple hair, Lestrange's niece_." Then he said he used a curse on her husband that would ensure he suffered a slow agonizing death because she couldn't bring him back again. The man had laughed nastily and said there wouldn't be any " _happily ever after_ " for either of them.

Putting all that together really only yielded one answer, Remus must have been hit by the Sleeping Beauty curse which caused a form of simulated death so real that no one was likely to be able to tell the difference, especially since there was no particular reason for anyone to be looking. Despite its whimsical name, it was a cruel and nasty little curse, rarely used and little known, and there was only one way to lift it. As any reader of Muggle fairytales would know, the only cure was a kiss from the victim's true love. The Death Eater thought he'd foiled that possibility by killing Tonks before Remus' eyes, but that required her to really be his true love.

Severus sighed as he looked down at Remus' still form. Maybe she was. Remus did marry her after all, had a child with her. Surely he wouldn't have done those things if he didn't love her. Would he?

His own relationship with Remus had ended so badly. He cringed whenever he thought back to their final conversation and the horrid things he'd said to the man. The nastiness of their parting was totally his fault, he didn't deny that for a moment, but there really wasn't anything else he could have done. He knew what was coming, what Albus was going to require him to do, and he knew he had no choice but to do it. But he refused to drag anyone else down with him, especially not Remus.

Going on alone had been his only alternative. Alone with his vows and his guilt and his obligations to the grand relationship of his past that he'd finally understood too late had become an obsession, something he clung to because he was afraid to move on and let himself love someone who might just love him back.

As much as he hadn't wanted to admit it, even to himself, his true love, the one that was really right, lay here before him. The only way to know if Remus felt the same way, however, was to kiss him and see what happened. If he was right, then Remus would live, and the two of them might have a chance to correct the mistakes of the past. Hopefully this time, with nothing hanging over either of them, and no one else to interfere, things would be different.

So without any more hesitation, Severus bent down, pressed his lips to Remus', and prayed he was right. Willing Remus to open his eyes, to live and continue to live for many more years, he pulled back and held his breath, watching anxiously. How long would it take to lift the curse if he was right, if he, and not Nymphadora Tonks, was really Remus' true love? It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't the vaguest idea.

Uncounted seconds crept by, enough of them for Severus to truly begin to understand just how agonizingly long a second could really be. Then the air shifted slightly as if someone had taken a shallow breath and, unbidden, hope slipped into Severus' heart and began to grow. Abruptly, Remus' eyes flickered open, and he glanced around, appearing rather bewildered to find himself alive.

"Severus?" he whispered as his eyes struggled to focus on the man hovering over him. "What happened?"

It worked! As elation flowed through him like the warm rays of a summer sun, Severus instinctively smiled in happy, heartfelt relief for an instant before forcing the expression from his face. There was no need to make a scene. There'd be time enough for that later, once they were alone.

"Congratulations, Lupin. You aren't dead after all," he said calmly.

As Remus turned his head, wary eyes gazing in horror at all the shrouded forms surrounding them, Severus placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and added, "It's all right. The war is over. We won. The Dark Lord's been destroyed. Just try to relax…"

"Relax? Are you insane?!" Remus exclaimed angrily. "What the hell do you mean _we_ won? Why are you even here? Last I knew, you and I weren't fighting on the same side, you traitor." As Remus pushed himself up onto his elbows and shoved Severus away from him, he was overcome with a wave of dizziness. He moaned and shook his head.

"I don't understand. The last thing I remember, I was fighting Death Eaters and…" He gasped and sudden panic filled his voice. "Dora! Where's Dora? He hit her with a spell. It was…" He pressed a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "No! The flash was green, but if I'm alive then she…"

When he opened his eyes again, tears welled up and began to slip down his cheeks. Abruptly, he sat up and grabbed Severus by the front of his robes. "Where's Dora?" he demanded. "Is she alive? What have you done with her?"

Dismay coursed through Severus as cold reality smothered his faint glimmerings of hope. Why hadn't he anticipated this surge of animosity on Remus' part? They'd parted in anger. They hadn't even spoken in over a year. No matter what his deeper feelings might be, he thought of Severus as the enemy and nothing had proved that assumption wrong in his eyes. Remus might have been suffering from the Sleeping Beauty curse, but obviously they weren't going to be experiencing a scene of happily ever after here. Not if all the man could think about was his dead wife. He was a fool to have ever imagined any other result.

Pulling Remus' hands from the front of his robe, Severus gestured toward the still form on the table next to them.

"I didn't do anything to her, but you're right. The flash you saw was green. She's dead."

Shoving Severus aside, Remus slid off the table to reach across and pull the sheet off Tonks' body. "No…" he whispered hoarsely. "Dora, please, don't be dead."

Crying in earnest now, Remus pulled his wife's body closer and laid his head against hers. "Damn it! Why did you have to follow me here? Why didn't you stay home with Teddy as we'd agreed? Why couldn't you have done just this one thing as you promised?"

Severus stood awkwardly and watched Remus rage at fate and abruptly felt totally exhausted. He'd done what he'd come to do and if the result hadn't been everything that he'd hoped for, well, who did he have to blame but himself?

A sound from the hallway outside the makeshift mortuary dragged Severus out of Remus' pain and back to reality. He couldn't stay any longer. If he was to have any hope of getting away, he had to leave now before anyone wandered in and saw him.

Of course, once Remus pulled himself out of his grief enough to think again, he'd tell people that Severus had been there, but there was always the possibility they wouldn't believe him. The man was highly distraught and confused. Severus knew he'd just have to take the chance. He wasn't going to tamper with Remus' mind. He'd already tampered with his feelings. Best to leave things as they were.

Taking one last look at his former lover as the man cried over his dead wife, Severus turned and began to move quietly away. Before he took more than a couple of steps, Remus, more aware of his surroundings than Severus thought, grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back.

"Oh, no, Severus. You aren't going anywhere. You have far too much explaining to do, and I intend to see that you do it," Remus snarled, tears still flowing down his cheeks.

Severus tried to pull free, but desperation strengthened the werewolf's grip. "Damn it, Lupin! I'm not your enemy. Let me go," Severus exclaimed in frustration. Surely saving Remus wasn't going to be the deed that did him in. How ironic would that be?

"Potter defeated the Dark Lord. Voldemort is truly dead and gone forever this time. Potter knows the truth of where my loyalties lie. I gave him my memories. They'll explain everything. The boy's no good at keeping secrets; I'm sure he'll tell you anything you want to know. I can't stay here. If I ever meant anything to you, let me leave now."

Staring deeply into Remus' eyes, his voice became lower and more intense. "Remus, please… Don't you understand? I'm finally free! Free from them all. Don't tell them I'm alive. Just let me go…and I'll never trouble you again." _Unless you want me to_ , he added silently.

Remus seemed to hesitate and, as his grip slackened, Severus thought for a moment that his words had made a difference, but then Remus' eyes glazed over as he staggered and grabbed for the nearest table before collapsing into unconsciousness. Severus seized Remus before he could fall. Realizing that the man's weakened condition had simply caught up to him, he gently lowered Remus' body to the floor and, with one last, long look at the man he loved, Severus turned away and quickly left the room.

~~~o~~~

When Remus opened his eyes once more, he found himself sitting on the floor, his aching head rested awkwardly against his makeshift bier, while several people stood over him, looking amazed and concerned.

Suddenly, the crowd parted as Poppy Pomfrey pushed her way through and knelt at his side. She scanned him with her wand and felt his wrist for a pulse. Shaking her head in wonder, she said with a smile, "I don't understand, Remus. I was sure you were dead, but apparently I was wrong and glad of it. How do you feel?"

Remus shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure. I…I thought I was dead, too. I saw Sirius and James and…"

Poppy helped the dazed man to his feet. He glanced around at the people staring at him as they gave way and moved back. "Where's Severus?" he said suddenly, looking around as if expecting to see the former Potions master somewhere in the crowd, but surely that wasn't possible? Was it?

Poppy took a firm grip on his arm and began to lead him out of the classroom. If she was surprised at Remus' question, she didn't show it. "He's not here, Remus. I'm afraid that he didn't survive the battle," she said.

Remus frowned in confusion as he allowed her to steer him toward the door. That didn't sound right. His thoughts were fuzzy and jumbled, but he was almost certain that Severus had spoken to him right here in this room after the battle was long over. He had a clear vision of the man standing there and looking down at him, and he'd told him something, though at the moment, he couldn't recall just what.

"He's dead? Are you sure?" Remus asked uncertainly. "I could've sworn…"

"Harry said he was sure Snape was dead. That he watched him die. Do you know something he doesn't?" she asked curiously.

The room began to spin lazily, and he clutched Poppy's arm more securely as a sudden sharp vision of Severus' face, pleading for his silence, swam before his eyes. Had Severus really been there or had it all been just one more all too vivid dream? Uncertainty kept him silent.

"I…no, I don't know anything," he murmured as he closed his eyes against another attack of vertigo. Poppy instantly conjured up a stretcher to support him. Then, once she got him on it, she whisked him off to the infirmary; happy to have one more patient to treat and one fewer casualty to mourn.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A few months later…_**

"Has the child in question shown any tendency toward being a werewolf, Mr. Lupin? I'm assuming you'd know the signs."

Remus looked up into the face of the Interrogator, a cold-eyed man named Thracken, who sat in the center of the towering bench. Beyond him in the dimly lit courtroom sat other grim figures staring down at him with unsmiling faces. One of those who sat back in the shadows was Dolores Umbridge, and Remus' heart sank a bit lower as he glimpsed a smirk of satisfaction on her wide mouth. Her star had fallen somewhat with the change over at the Ministry, but people like her, those who merely let themselves be swept along by whoever was in power, always seemed to land on their feet.

The government of the wizarding world was still very much in flux so soon after the battle at Hogwarts. Flushing evil out of all the places it had crawled into and entrenched itself during the rule of Voldemort was taking time…a lot of time. The Dark Lord himself might be gone, but not all of his followers and sympathizers were easy to spot or get rid of. And those whose actions paled when compared to his egregious abuses tended not to be much of a priority at the moment.

An honest but weak wizard had been placed in charge of the Ministry of Magic until affairs were more in order and a new Minister could be fairly chosen by the war weary populace. Change, even much needed change, was slow to happen. Eventually the bad apples would be forced out, and honorable and reasonable people would step in and take over, but it wouldn't happen fast enough to help him now. And even if it did, honorable and reasonable people were also afraid of werewolves.

Remus shifted in his chair. He had a feeling that many on the bench in front of him wished that its traditional chains were in evidence.

"Yes, sir. I do know the signs, and no, Teddy has shown none of them. He's lived through several full moons by now with no effect whatsoever."

A tall witch sitting beside Thracken peered over her spectacles at him. "You don't know this from your own personal observation though, do you?"

"No. For obvious reasons, I wasn't present at any of those times. I've been repeatedly told by those who were watching him that he was fine, however. I have no reason to doubt their word."

"If we reaffirm your parental status and grant you custody of the child despite the challenge of your mother-in-law, you will have to rely on many such sitters, will you not?" said Thracken.

"Yes," Remus said shortly. There was no point in arguing. It was a fact that he would not be able to be with Teddy during the full moon. No one, least of all himself, would want him to be. "I have no shortage of highly capable people who are willing to stay with Teddy during this time, including his grandmother."

He glanced over at Andromeda who sat in a similar chair in the otherwise empty room and stared stonily back having already given her evidence, which had consisted mostly of a long litany of what she saw as his shortcomings and a glowing description of the happy home she would give to the offspring of her much mourned, only child.

"Oh," said Thracken, glancing down at the papers in front of him and back up again. "Then you don't propose to keep the child from his grandmother?"

"Of course not, she's his grandmother. I wouldn't deny her access to him. She's the one who wishes to keep me from my own child."

"Ah, well, I'm sure she simply feels the need to protect him." Interrogator Thracken nodded amiably to Andromeda who smiled back.

"Protect him!" Remus exclaimed angrily. He was getting very tired of the constant implication that he was a danger to his son simply because he existed.

"Surely you don't deny that werewolves are dangerous, Mr. Lupin." Umbridge's little girl voice came suddenly out of the shadows of the bench.

"Only during the full moon, and only then if they do not take the Wolfsbane potion," Remus said.

"Because that potion allows you to suppress your violent, animalistic tendencies?" she asked.

"Because it allows a werewolf to keep his mental faculties intact during the transformation," Remus stated plainly.

"Do you deny having animalistic tendencies?" Umbridge's voice took on a note of studied surprise.

"Yes, of course, I deny it. I am not an animal," said Remus indignantly. "Just because…"

Umbridge cut him off. "Of course you are an animal. The Ministry has long decreed that werewolves are to be classed under the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. You are required to be registered as a danger to wizarding society. This is a governmental fact.

"You have fur and claws and sharp teeth, and you prowl around on four legs instead of two every month. That most certainly makes you an animal. I don't think there is any point in arguing that fact. No one here would give your denials any credence, I can assure you."

Remus could feel himself going colder and colder with every word she spoke.

Thracken took up the questions again as soon as Umbridge fell silent. "You mentioned the Wolfsbane potion. Do you currently take it, Mr. Lupin? I was under the impression that your access to the potion has been cutoff for some time."

"I've recently found an apothecary who's willing to brew the potion for me."

"It's an expensive potion. It's my understanding that you are currently unemployed. How will you be able to afford this potion every month?"

"I'll manage. I've been seeking a job in Muggle London and have a couple of excellent prospects."

"Ah…" Thracken appeared unimpressed at the idea of Remus working in Muggle society. "If you do gain employment, how will you find the time to care for your son? He is still an infant and cannot be left alone."

"Of course he can't be left alone, and I have no intention of doing so. I have plenty of offers of help from friends."

"I see. So once again, you will hand the child off into the care of another. And where will you live? You're currently living in someone else's house because you cannot afford a place of your own, is that correct?"

Remus shot a glance at Andromeda and the smirk she tossed back was filled with malice.

"Yes, the house I'm currently living in belongs to a friend of mine."

"Hmmm…it appears that if we grant custody to you, we will actually be putting your son into the care of these apparently numerous friends of yours who are currently supplying you with money, a home, and child care. Yet we have no assurances of how long their largesse will last. What happens if your friends are too busy to sit, or if they decide they have another use for their home, or if your excellent prospects do not result in a job? What will you do then?"

The Interrogator shook his head sadly, not giving Remus any chance to actually answer him. "You may have an excellent war record, but your current lifestyle is far less enviable, I'm afraid, and past glories do not always count for much in the real world. The home you propose to offer the child sounds more like a house of cards to me. It's certainly not the secure and well ordered home that Mrs. Tonks is offering, is it?

"A young child needs stability in his life. He needs a secure and loving home where he will be safe at all times with a caregiver he can depend on, someone who will be there whenever the child has need of her…or him…not simply when he can find the time amidst other obligations. Thank you, Mr. Lupin. I think we have all the information we need to render a verdict in this case."

~~~o~~~

 

 **Werewolf Hero Loses Custody of Son to Former Mother-In-Law**

The headline was spread across the top of the front page of the Daily Prophet in bold script above a picture of Remus Lupin, face pale and gaunt, striding through the corridors of the Ministry of Magic while reporters swarmed behind him and shouted inane questions at his rapidly retreating back.

Severus raced through the accompanying article as quickly as he could, while trying not to miss even the tiniest detail. His expression grew grimmer with each paragraph he read until he finished the story and threw the paper down on his breakfast table in disgust. Picking up his teacup, he retreated to the kitchen window and stared out through the green foliage at the patch of blue sky and even bluer ocean just visible in the distance. His cup rattled sharply against its saucer as he grasped the handle and raised it to his lips. Usually the smooth warmth of a cup of tea would calm his annoyance and soothe his aggravation, but he had a feeling that nothing would be strong enough to work that magic today.

Damn the Blacks! Damn every last one of them living and dead! Andromeda might not harbor the deep belief in the superiority of purebloods that most of the rest of her family had, but she was every bit as selfish, hardhearted and arrogant. The Blacks always had the utmost contempt for those who got in their way. Remus was just the latest in a long line of people to be ground to bits under the Black heel.

Apparently Remus, too noble for his own good as usual, didn't even trade on his famous connections, no doubt naively believing that because he was the boy's father, he had the stronger claim. Ha! His paternity was nothing more than an inconsequential and inconvenient fact, easily swept away in the face of the Black name and the lurking, societal prejudice against werewolves. The so-called custody hearing probably didn't even last five minutes. Remus never had a chance.

Swallowing the last of his tea, Severus turned around and gazed once more at Remus' pained face staring at him out of the newspaper page. Why the hell did he do it anyway? Of all the people he could have chosen to marry, why in the world did he pick a Black? Especially once he'd spent some time living in the Black family mausoleum and got a really good look at what lay festering beneath the family surface. Didn't that tell him anything?

Was love truly so blind? Had he really loved Tonks that much? He must have. What other explanation could there be for his actions? A stab of confusion mixed with feelings of pain and doubt. Yet if that was true, then why did his kiss revive the man? Why weren't Mr. and Mrs. Remus Lupin sharing matching headstones in some quaint little churchyard right this very minute?

With an abrupt gesture, Severus reached out, snatched the newspaper from the table and, crushing it in his hand, tossed it into the rubbish bin. Then he set his cup and saucer down on the drain board, picked up his bag and practically threw himself out the cottage door, slamming it loudly behind him.

He didn't want to think about it anymore. It didn't matter! None of it mattered. Remus Lupin was nothing more than a mistake of his past. Whatever troubles the man had now, he had only himself to blame for them, and he would have to deal with them alone. Nothing that Remus did was his concern any longer. Not now and, most likely, not ever again. Thoroughly annoyed at his preoccupation with someone he needed to forget, Severus strode off down the path at a rapid pace intending to throw himself into his work.


	3. Chapter 3

Long, supple fingers stroked his chest and slid enticingly down his body while Remus moaned in delight. A warm body cuddled against his back and soft kisses were pressed to his neck and his shoulders. Then the fingers suddenly slipped away, just as they were about to go where he most wanted them to touch.

"No," he whispered to his lover. "Don't stop. Don't go. Don't leave me…"

He froze as the response came back in Severus' low tones instead of Dora's brighter ones. _"I told you I no longer want you, Lupin. Don't be a sentimental fool…"_

Remus gasped and sat bolt upright. The grey light of dawn was just beginning to creep into the room, and he was alone in his bed. Quite alone.

Throwing back the covers, he got to his feet and padded over to the window. Pushing the curtains aside, he laid his forehead against the cool glass. The small square outside was deserted this early in the morning and the heavy, cloud-laden sky promised yet another grey and gloomy day. Dropping the curtains back into place with an impatient sigh, he stalked back to the bed and threw himself on top of it to stare blindly up at the ceiling.

Why was he continuing to dream about Severus after all this time? The dreams had abated for awhile. When he was with Dora, he almost never saw Severus in his dreams, but since she died, they'd returned, stronger and more vivid than ever. He'd lost them all. Dora, Teddy…and Severus. Dwelling on any of them was not only painful but pointless. The past was done and gone. He needed to look ahead. The problem was…what was there ahead to look for?

He sat up and stared around the dim room. Harry was being kind to let him stay at Grimmauld Place again since he could no longer afford the flat he'd shared with Dora, but he knew he couldn't stay forever, nor did he want to. On a sunny day, Sirius' family home was a gloomy and depressing place, but when the weather was dreary outside, it was even worse, and that wasn't helping his outlook at all.

Somehow he needed to get his mind off Severus. The man had made it perfectly clear that he no longer wanted anything to do with him. Not ever. Despite what Remus had once believed, he'd been little more than an opportunistic conquest, desired only for sex, nothing more. The harsh reality of their relationship was that Severus Snape had never cared for him at all.

Remus frowned. Yet if that was true, why had Severus been there when he'd come back from the beyond, or the netherworld, or wherever the heck he'd been after that Death Eater hexed him? What reason would Severus have had to seek out a dead man and endanger himself in the process? Why take such a risk just to stare once more at someone you didn't care about?

That was another unanswered question. What did that Death Eater do to him? There was no doubt he wasn't hit with the killing curse. No one could come back from that. Yet he'd certainly thought he was dead and so did everyone else. He even saw and talked to friends whom he knew darned well actually were dead. So what really happened to him? Why was he alive? And what did Severus have to do with it?

With a sigh Remus got up and began to pull on his clothes. He wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore even if he wanted to, so he might as well give up trying and go have something to eat.

Once he was dressed, he left his room and headed downstairs. On the first floor landing, he glanced down into the gloom of the front hall and suddenly had a piercingly sharp vision of Severus standing at the bottom of the steps staring up at him. Severus' black eyes glittered in the candlelight and a faint smirk sensuously quirked the corner of his lips. Remus couldn't count the number of times he'd seen Severus standing there exactly like that, impatiently waiting for him to come down. The Potions master often came a bit early to meetings if he thought they could snatch a few minutes alone together before the house filled up with Order members.

Remus shook himself firmly, banishing the memory, and the hall stood empty again. As he stared down into the dimness, the same unanswered questions came bubbling up to fill the silence with whispers. Why was Severus there when he awoke? Did he do something that brought him back? What that something could possibly be Remus couldn't imagine, yet the thought continued to nag at him.

Remus knew there was something he was forgetting, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't dredge it from the depths of his mind. Everything he remembered from the moment he fell on the battlefield until he woke up to see Severus looking anxiously down at him was a jumbled mess. Trying to make sense of it was like looking through a collection of painted puzzle pieces. He knew that somehow they made a whole picture, but he could neither figure out how they fit together nor what that whole should look like if he somehow managed to put them in the right places.

Remus stopped halfway down the next flight of stairs and frowned; unbidden, a vivid image of Severus' face bending over him came rushing back. Severus _had_ looked anxious! As if he was concerned about something but concerned about what? Concerned about him?

Concentrating his focus on that single moment in time, he struggled to piece his fractured memories together. When he first opened his eyes, didn't Severus smile at him, just for an instant? As if the man was relieved to see him alive.

Suddenly certain he was right, Remus felt a weight lift inside him and a relieved smile crossed his own face as he continued down the stairs to the front hall and then down into the kitchen, lighting candles automatically as he went.

Severus sought him out in a sea of dead bodies when what he really should have been doing was getting as far away from Hogwarts as he could. There had to be a reason for that. Did he simply want to look at him one last time, or did the man somehow know that he wasn't really dead? Remus hadn't paid that much attention to Severus' expression at the time because he'd been so shocked to find himself alive and been so devastated to discover that Tonks wasn't.

Fixing himself a bowl of porridge and a cup of coffee, Remus settled down at the scrubbed table to eat and think some more.

He'd been the only one to see Severus after the battle was over. Everyone else assumed the man was dead. Harry swore he watched him die, and until they went to retrieve his body, and it wasn't there, no one thought to doubt that assumption. Why should they? Harry was quite certain about what he witnessed; yet, isn't it possible that he made a mistake? He was under tremendous pressure himself at that point, and he didn't linger in the Shrieking Shack to be certain that Severus was dead. He had other things to worry about.

Severus _was_ there when he awoke, and he was alive, not some sort of ghost. Remus touched him, held his arm, felt his solidity. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Severus had been real, and that he'd begged him not to tell anyone that he'd seen him.

What happened to Severus remained one of the enduring mysteries of the war. The accepted public version of events said he was dead, and that's what most people believed. Some, mostly those close to Harry, who helped to clean up after the battle, thought that it was at least possible that Severus was still alive since his body vanished from the Shrieking Shack before they could retrieve it, and no one was able to account for what happened to it. Did he leave under his own power? Did one of the few Death Eaters who escaped in the confusion remove his body? No one really knew.

After Harry cleared Severus of all wrongdoing and publicly admitted that he'd been mistaken about his former professor, no one thought there was much reason to go looking for him. If he was alive, letting him go seemed the best solution. Wherever Severus had gone, he'd more than earned the right to live his remaining years on his own terms.

But suddenly, Remus wasn't sure that he could let Severus go that easily.

~~~o~~~

Beneath gently swaying branches, Severus stalked along the shaded pathway that led from his secluded cottage to the main thoroughfare of Owl's Hill, the second largest village on the island where he'd settled. Normally he'd simply Apparate from outside his home to the alley beside his shop, but he had a lot of work to do once he reached his establishment, and he hoped the walk would help calm his mind enough to let him do it.

Upon reaching the village street, he paused and looked down the long hill into the town. Mosaica, the place where he hoped to escape from his past, was an island in the Mediterranean entirely populated by wizarding folk who'd settled there for any number of reasons from the temperate climate, to fleeing from scourges like Voldemort, to simply wanting to start over someplace different. The fact that its population was made up almost entirely of people from other places, made it the ideal spot for him to choose as a refuge. The island's populace was used to newcomers, so most folk neither looked too closely nor asked too many questions.

Going into business as an apothecary and slipping into a new identity had been trivially easy, particularly since he'd been planning such a move for years on the off chance that he'd somehow find a way to survive the nightmare his life had become back in Britain. So far, everything had gone according to plan, with the annoying exception of his failure to banish thoughts of Remus Lupin from his mind. He'd manage that, too, eventually. There was nothing he couldn't do if he really set his mind to it. The fact that he was here, whole and safe, proved that beyond a doubt.

Running a hand through his closely cropped hair, he set off down the street toward his workplace, his forest green robes flapping in the brisk ocean breeze. As it was still fairly early, most of the shops he passed weren't open for business and very few people were out and about just yet.

Those who were around were quite happy to exchange a brief greeting as they meandered slowly into their day. In general, the village had been very happy to see him arrive and had embraced his work much more quickly than he'd expected. The only apothecary in town had wanted to retire and spend his days fishing and gossiping at the local pub, so for once, his timing had been excellent and instead of having to build a clientele from the ground up, he'd settled immediately into a booming business. Though a small part of him would have welcomed a bit of a respite, the greater part was quite happy to throw himself straight into hard work and put the recent past behind him.

Halfway down the main street, he turned off into a narrow, shady lane and made for a small shop with a square sign hanging above a freshly painted black door. **Prince's Apothecary, Marcus Prince, proprietor** , the sign proclaimed in Slytherin silver and green. Severus smiled to himself. It would perhaps be more satisfying to see his own name emblazoned up there for all to read, but it would also be more foolhardy. He wanted a fresh start, and he could really only get that by leaving the name of Severus Snape behind him for good.

Not that he was so attached to the name that he mourned its loss overly much, but like it or not, it was his and, over time, he'd come to terms with that. Still the name of Prince was his by right as well, and he thought that his grandfather Marcus wouldn't mind too much if he made use of it. Looking back on his less than stellar excuse for a family, he thought that his grandfather had actually been the only one of them worth commemorating. So Marcus Prince he would become while Severus Snape slipped forever into the mists of time, a casualty of distant war.

Slipping a key from his pocket, he unlocked the shop door and stepped inside. Time to get the day started, he had lots of orders to put together and a werewolf to forget about.


	4. Chapter 4

As Remus stepped inside the entrance of Hogwarts castle, Minerva McGonagall came out of the Great Hall to greet him, hands extended to grasp his own warmly.

"Remus, I was so pleased to hear from you. How are you doing? I was very sorry to read that the Wizengamot ruled against you. Shocked might be a better word. I really expected better now that Voldemort is finally gone, but I suppose change happens at its own pace."

"I'm afraid this is one change that may never come, Minerva. People have had the danger of werewolves drilled into them since they were children. For many we're the equivalent of the Muggle bogey man. We're the slavering monsters who live under the bed and will eat them if they don't behave. Except that we're very real and the majority of us aren't quite the horror we're made out to be. Unfortunately, most people can't separate the fact from the fiction, and they don't really want to try."

"I'm sorry. Are you going to appeal?" she asked.

"I don't know. Under current circumstances, I see no way I can win, and I don't want to make things worse than they already are. I could try to trade on my status as a war hero, I suppose, but I got the impression that it wouldn't really help much. Besides, if I point out what I lost during the final battle, Andromeda can just turn around and claim the same loss as well as point out that neither of us would have suffered that loss if Dora hadn't felt compelled to follow me into danger. Something I really can't argue with."

Remus sighed and shook his head. "No. A prolonged and nasty battle in the courts would be horrible for everyone, especially Teddy. Right now feelings are too raw and suspicions too high. Hopefully, once I get my life in order, find a job, a permanent living situation; I'll be in a better position to challenge Andromeda again. As long as Teddy is being well cared for and loved, that's what's important for now."

"That's very generous of you, not that I'm surprised by that. You've always been kind and generous, even to those who didn't deserve the courtesy. I don't think that I'd be as forgiving in your place." She shook her head and released his hands from her grasp. "However, I doubt you came here to revisit this painful situation. What can I do to help you? You said you had a request to make of me."

"Yes." He nodded, quite ready to move on to a new topic, though not necessarily a happier one. "It's about Severus."

"Severus? Do you know what happened to him?" Minerva's tone was anxious. "I was so surprised when we went to retrieve his body, and it was gone. Now no one seems to know for certain whether he's alive or dead. I feel very badly that we spent most of this last year at odds. If only he'd told me the truth!"

Her expression darkened in disapproval. "Though I do understand what a difficult situation he was in and why he chose not to confide in me. When I found out what was really going on I gave Albus' portrait a piece of my mind. Not that it changed anything, mind you, but it did make me feel a bit better. I haven't been back to speak to it since."

Remus smiled at the indignation in Minerva's voice. "Severus was there when I…awoke after the battle." He still didn't know exactly what to think about that strange period of time. If he wasn't really dead, then what did happen to him? "He was the first person I saw, and I can't quite shake the feeling that he did something that brought me back."

"My goodness!" exclaimed Minerva in surprise. "Why didn't you tell someone?"

"He asked me not to. I don't think he wanted to risk a confrontation with anyone at the time. Everyone still thought he was a traitor, after all. Myself included, I'm sorry to say."

She nodded. "That was probably wise. Most people wouldn't have believed you anyway before his body was discovered to be missing. They'd simply have thought you muddled and mistaken after what you'd gone through."

Remus smiled his agreement. "I was muddled; very much so, and for quite awhile, I did think I might have been mistaken. However, as time has passed, my memories have become a bit clearer. I know Severus was there."

She sighed. "I've wondered many times what happened to him. I'm glad to get your confirmation that he was alive after the battle. I wanted to believe it, of course, but with no proof one way or the other, I knew it easily could be no more than wishful thinking on my part."

"I want to try to find him," Remus exclaimed. "I need to know the truth about what happened to me, and I have a feeling that he may know something about it." As well as a few other things that he felt it prudent not to mention.

"How do you plan to go about it? If Severus wanted to be found, I'd have thought that someone would have run across him by now. It's been months. Where do you plan to look?" asked Minerva.

"I'm not really sure. Do you know if anyone has actually tried to find him?" he asked.

Minerva paused thoughtfully for a moment before shaking her head. "You know, I don't think anyone has really. I have this feeling that someone went to his house and determined that it was empty, but I think that was as far as anyone went. I suppose, even once the truth was known, he wasn't popular enough for any extensive search to be made, particularly since no one was truly certain that he was alive. Or if so, that he wanted to be found."

"Well, I'm quite certain he's alive, though whether he wants to be found or not is a question I can't answer. If he doesn't, that will make my task all the more difficult, but I'm going to try anyway, which brings me to why I came here. Did he leave any belongings here at the school? If so, could I possibly go through them? Anything he left behind might give me a clue as to where to look for him."

Minerva nodded and began to move toward the staircase that would lead down to the dungeon. "He left Hogwarts in rather a hurry and everything he had here was left behind. It really didn't turn out to be much though. Our new Headmaster had everything put into storage for lack of a better solution. It's all downstairs."

Remus followed her to the stairs and down. It seemed quite natural to him. He always associated Severus with the dungeons of the school. It was quite simply the place he'd made his own. As Remus descended the familiar staircase he asked, "How is the new Headmaster working out? Were you upset when they didn't give the job to you?"

Minerva shook her head. "No, I never wanted the job. I'm a teacher, Remus. That's what I love to do. Administering the school and dealing with parents, politicians and board members is very trying. Quite frankly, I'd rather not have the hassle of it to contend with. Our new Headmaster is doing just fine. So far things are going very smoothly this term. Though there is still a bit of repair work going on."

They reached the lower floor, but instead of turning down toward Severus' former quarters, Minerva turned in the other direction and led the way to an unassuming door off the main passageway. Pulling a ring of keys from a pocket, she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The room smelled faintly musty as unused storage rooms below ground level often did. When Minerva lit a small lamp that hung by the door, Remus could see that the room held quite a few boxes and bags of various shapes and sizes. He doubted that all he was seeing belonged to Severus though, and he was quickly proved right on that score.

Minerva pointed to a single old-fashioned cardboard suitcase and a box, overflowing with books. "I believe that Irma added a number of Severus' books to the library's collection with some sort of commemorative plate inside the front cover. His cauldrons, vials, stirring rods and the other potions' paraphernalia that he'd amassed over the years were left for Horace to make use of. Severus would be welcome to have everything back, of course, if he ever cares to reclaim them. The rest of his belongings are here. I'm afraid there isn't much. You're more than welcome to sift through everything and see what you can find."

Remus smiled. "Thank you. I'll get right to it."

Minerva smiled in return. "Do you have any idea what you're looking for?"

"Just some indication of where he might have gone or at least what he was thinking about. Though I doubt it will be as easy as finding a forwarding address. You mentioned his home, earlier, said someone had gone there?"

"Yes," she said. "Spinner's End, I believe it's called. It was his childhood home. I don't think he was terribly fond of it, but it was his and as far as I know he returned there when school wasn't in session. The place was deserted, but I don't think anyone searched it thoroughly."

"Did he ever mention anywhere he might go if he had the chance? Or did he talk about somewhere he'd been on holiday that he particularly enjoyed? Anything you can think of might help." He knew it was unlikely that she knew anything really useful, but Remus wanted to be sure he explored every avenue of information that was open to him.

She gave that some thought. "No, I can't say he ever mentioned going anywhere in particular on holiday, but Severus wasn't one to discuss his plans or wishes." She smiled. "I do remember once, when the subject of where we would go to retire came up, that Severus said that if he had a choice he would go somewhere warm. Of course, we were snowed in at the time and the heating system had been malfunctioning for days. Peeves having his jollies, as I recall. I can assure you that anywhere warm held great appeal for all of us just then."

"I imagine that it would," Remus said sympathetically, remembering quite well how cold and drafty Hogwarts could get in the dead of winter even without Peeves' intervention.

"Anyway, I wish I could stay and help you, but I have some papers I need to grade before class."

"I won't keep you then. Thank you for all your help, Minerva."

She nodded. "I hope you find him, and if you do, tell him… Tell him we all wish him well."

"I will."

"All right, simply close the door when you finish. You don't need to worry about locking up. I'll attend to it later. Good luck, Remus." With a final fond smile, she squeezed his arm briefly and left the small room, closing the door behind her.

~~~o~~~

Severus stood behind the high counter at the back of his shop and put a delivery order together. As he worked, he discussed the potions and their recipients so that the dictating quill at his side could take it all down for the delivery girl when she arrived…. _if_ she arrived. Getting reliable help hadn't been all that easy here, unfortunately.

With a sudden frown, he bit back a comment he'd been about to utter. Remembering to refrain from adding extraneous commentary to his instructions took some restraint on his part. The first time he'd made out a delivery list, he'd simply commented to himself as he'd always done when working and then been highly annoyed to discover that every stray utterance had made it onto his written list. Of course he should have known it would, he wasn't unfamiliar with the workings of dictating quills, which only increased his annoyance. Using them so often was going to take a bit of practice.

After all, while the delivery girl needed to know that an invigoration draught was to be delivered to Gladys Widget on Hedgebox Lane, she didn't really need to know that he thought the woman was a hypochondriac who dosed herself with potions and powders because she needed something to pass the time, however true those observations might be.

As the bell rang at his front door, he lifted his head from his work and pushed up the glasses that had slipped down the bridge of his nose. The glasses had turned out to be a very simple and effective piece of disguise, but they were always sliding down his face, even with his substantial nose to keep them in place. It was rather aggravating. How did people who really needed the darned things manage anyway? Minerva never seemed to have any trouble. There had to be a trick to it. He'd figure it out eventually.

A young boy of about ten stood framed in the doorway of the shop, eager brown eyes taking in every detail of the narrow crowded room before he came in and closed the door behind him.

"Morning, Mr. Prince," he exclaimed as he crossed the room to stand looking up at Severus with a cheeky grin on his round face.

Severus reached out and stilled the quill at his side. "Mr. Copter. What can I do for you this morning?"

"My Mum sent me for another one of your headache potions. She's feeling poorly again, but she said your potions work wonders."

Severus frowned. "Your mother should see a Healer. This is the third time in a week you've been in here for pain potions. If she's in that much pain, there must be a reason for it."

"My Mum's okay really. It's just that all the family's here visiting from England. That's eight more kids and three adults." Thaddeus Copter's grin widened as he brushed sandy brown hair off his forehead. "They're staying for a month. I think I'll be a regular customer for awhile."

Severus nodded with understanding and some sympathy. Merlin knows, family could be trying. "You're already quite the regular. Perhaps I should include a calming draught for your mother as well."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that. Thanks." The boy wrinkled up his nose. "What's that stink? It smells like you're boiling dirty socks in here."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I have a potion simmering in the back room. What you smell is the belladonna. The disagreeable odor will dissipate soon. I'm still in the early stages of the brewing."

"Belladonna. Isn't that stuff poisonous?"

A look of approval flitted through Severus' eyes. Many of his third year students back at Hogwarts seemed to have trouble remembering that fact, though they shouldn't have if they'd been paying any attention at all. "It is indeed poisonous."

Thaddeus looked up at Severus, clearly impressed. "I didn't know you made stuff here that would kill people."

"There are many ingredients in potions that can be harmful if not properly handled. That is why potion making is an art best left to those with wit and intelligence. Potions are not to be taken lightly, not even those intended to help.

"However, while belladonna is indeed a poison, its deleterious effect is counteracted in this case by essence of murtwort. No potion of mine is lethal unless I choose to make it lethal." He peered down at the boy's now somber, thoughtful face.

"I'd like to learn how to make potions," said Thaddeus.

"You must be almost old enough to be going away to school," said Severus.

"Next year," Thaddeus said eagerly. "I'll be eleven in a couple of months."

Severus nodded. "If you continue to be interested, you should study potions at school then. Do you know where you'll be going to study?"

"I think they were going to send me to Beauxbatons, but now that Voldemort is gone, Mum says maybe I can go to Hogwarts if they get everything back in shape again. I'd really like that, I think."

"I'm sure that they'll get the castle put back together properly by next year. I believe that the school is open at the moment. The damage from the battle wasn't that extensive. At least, not from what I heard," he added hastily. "It's a good school. I'm sure you'll do well there."

"Is that where you went to school, Mr. Prince?" asked Thaddeus.

"Yes," Severus said softly. "A long time ago now."

Thaddeus had begun to move around the shop looking closely at the various bottles and boxes on display. Now he turned and looked eagerly back at Severus.

"Maybe I could start early instead of having to wait until next year. Couldn't I be your apprentice or something? You could teach me."

Severus snorted shortly. Oh yes, that was all he needed, a curious apprentice prying into his affairs. "I would never hire an ignorant apprentice, and I do not have time to waste teaching potions to small, impatient children. I have a business to run here. No, you go to Hogwarts and let them teach you how to handle potions materials. Come back with some knowledge and understanding and we'll see."

Disappointed, Thaddeus nodded. "Well, if you don't need an apprentice at the moment, could I do anything else around here? Tidy up maybe? Run errands? You wouldn't even have to pay me, unless you wanted to, of course."

Severus cocked an eyebrow and considered the boy thoughtfully. "And just why are you so eager for employment here that you'd be willing to forego compensation unless I felt overly generous?"

"I really am interested in learning about potions…" The boy hesitated for a moment.

"Annnnd…" Severus stared pointedly at Thaddeus. Plainly there was more to the boy's sudden desire to hang around. Why wouldn't he just come out and say so?

Thaddeus flushed and continued reluctantly, "And I'd sort of like a reason not to be home so much at the moment. Some of my visiting cousins are real prats. What do you say? Isn't there anything I can do around here? I promise I'll work hard."

"Hmmmm…" Severus paused to consider the nervous, hopeful boy. He could use a hand with some of the drudgery. He never thought he'd miss having house-elves cluttering up the place but they did have their uses, and, truth be told, he wouldn't mind a bit of company now and then. Thaddeus, with his friendly manner and quick mind, was by far the most pleasant company he'd found since he'd come to this rock away from home. At times he almost reminded Snape of…

 _The castle shone bright in the autumn sunlight. A slim figure in Gryffindor colors stood near the door in the great front courtyard, shaggy brown hair framing a pair of clear amber eyes. Remus Lupin smiled at Severus and held out a book. "You dropped this outside the Great Hall. I thought you might need it for class."_

Severus reached out his hand to take the book, his cool fingers brushing against Remus' warmer ones…

Severus cleared his throat and banished that train of thought most firmly. "Very well. You can start by sweeping out the storeroom. You'll find a broom in the far corner. We'll discuss remuneration once I see what sort of worker you are. Don't make me regret taking you on."

Thaddeus' face lit up like a candle, and he hurried toward the door that led to the back. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Prince. Don't worry, you won't regret saying yes. I'm a hard worker. I'll do right by you, you'll see."

"See that you do," said Severus as Thaddeus vanished behind the curtain that separated the shop from the storeroom in the back. Once the boy was out of sight and Severus could hear the sounds of enthusiastic sweeping, he allowed himself a small smile, thinking that this could work out quite well.

His eyes strayed to the clock on the wall. Late again. If his delivery girl didn't arrive soon, she would definitely find herself summarily replaced. A highly motivated worker in the hand was worth much more than a lazy, slow employee who wanted to work only on her own schedule. With a smirk of satisfaction, he returned to making his list.


	5. Chapter 5

Sitting back on his heels, Remus stared with frustration at the woefully small pile of belongings that Severus had left behind when he fled from the school. None of them appeared to hold even the slightest clue as to where he might have gone. Or at least, if they did, Remus certainly couldn't figure out what that clue might be. He picked up a book at random, idly paging through it as he tried to decide what to do next.

Realistically, he'd known that searching through Severus' things was unlikely to produce an answer, but he realized sadly that he'd allowed himself to get his hopes up much higher than he should have and now he felt much more let down at his failure than he had any right to feel.

Glumly, he tossed the book back into the box it came from and began to load the rest of Severus' books into the box as well. Once he had them all packed up again, he turned his attention to the clothing. Carefully he folded Severus' trousers, jackets, and shirts and stowed them away in the suitcase. Then he reached for Severus' academic robe.

The light-weight silk of the robe felt cool and slippery in his hands and on impulse, he raised it to his face and brushed the smooth fabric against his cheek. The material still held a faint hint of Severus' scent, and Remus inhaled it eagerly, remembering the last time he'd touched this robe, and how the garment felt with Severus inside it.

With a sigh, Remus let the robe fall to his lap. Despite the time and distance that separated them, his memories of Severus were as clear as ever, but memories, no matter how diverting, weren't going to help him in his search. He needed something a bit more concrete, and it didn't appear that he was going to find it here. Laying the robe flat on the floor, he began to fold it, but as he smoothed out the thin material, his hand brushed across a lump in one of the pockets. Reaching inside, he pulled out a slim, tattered volume that was missing its cover.

Holding the aged book up to the light spilling from the room's single lamp, Remus was surprised to realize that he recognized it. It was a scholarly treatise on antidotes for exotic poisons. He'd purchased the small book himself many years ago and given it to Severus as a birthday gift. It hadn't been new when he'd bought it, having found it in a used book shop he'd frequented during his student days, but now it was even more dog-eared and worn. That Severus had kept it at all surprised him; that he'd find it tucked away in a robe that the man had worn until fairly recently was even more difficult to fathom.

On impulse, Remus slipped the small book into his shirt pocket and finished folding Severus' robe. Once he had it in a neat package, he stowed it carefully away. Then he closed the suitcase and set it upright next to the overflowing box of books. A lone suitcase and a box of old books wasn't much to show for all the years that Severus had devoted to Hogwarts it seemed to Remus as he got to his feet. Giving Severus' belongings one final, lingering look, he extinguished the lamp and left the room.

Remus closed the storeroom door and stood for a moment in the silent hall watching the shadows of the torches in the wall sconces flicker rhythmically across the grey stone. Slowly he turned and headed toward the staircase that would take him back up to the entrance hall. Memories might not take him where he needed to go, but it was hard to elude them here at Hogwarts where his relationship with Severus began.

Just before he reached the staircase, Remus stopped and opened another door. Few places at Hogwarts were steeped in more memories of Severus for him than the room he gazed into now. It was an unremarkable room, used for quiet study back when he was a student and, judging from the coating of dust that lay atop the long tables that filled the room, not used for much of anything at all now and hadn't been for a long time.

During their time at school, and mostly unknown to their friends and acquaintances, he and Severus had often spent evenings studying together. After meeting in this room quite by accident early in their school years, they'd recognized in each other someone who didn't quite fit comfortably into his allotted place in the world, though neither one of them ever talked about that specifically. Here, outside their usual circles, they connected with each other in ways they couldn't anywhere else.

When no one else was around, which was fairly frequently once Severus learned how to cover the door with compulsion charms that sent unwanted people scurrying elsewhere, Severus had helped him with his potions assignments. He'd been a good student and had worked hard, but he hadn't the gift for understanding the subtlety of potions that Severus had. And it _was_ a gift. The man turned the making of potions into an art that few others could equal. Of course, Severus had always been good with his hands.

Remus smiled to himself and wandered into the dim room. Idly he trailed a finger along the edge of the table against the near wall, tracing a sinuous letter S in the dusty surface. They'd made good use of this table back then. Not only had he written one of the best potions essays of his life at this table, thanks to Severus, but he'd lost his virginity here as well, and gained something of immense value to take its place.

Moving from studying, to talking, to kissing, to sex had been remarkably easy back then, though it hadn't really seemed that way at the time when almost anything they did had been fraught with tension, too many secrets, and overwrought teenage hormones. After that first shocking yet amazing time, almost every study session had ended the same way until everything simply ended, horribly.

After the explosive incident at the Shrieking Shack, memories had been all there were between them for year upon long, lonely year, until he'd come back to Hogwarts to teach. Though things hadn't gone well then, either, at least not at first.

A few months after the start of school, he'd come down for a late night snack from the kitchen. Having access to as much food as he wanted, any time he wanted it, was the biggest perk that teaching at Hogwarts offered as far as Remus was concerned, and he took advantage of it as often as he could.

On this night, rather than head straight back to his room, he'd wandered around for a bit and without consciously intending to, he'd ended up here just as he so often had during the evenings when he was a student.

 _Remus pushed open the door and conjured up a handful of blue flame. He held the light high and gazed thoughtfully around. It didn't look as if their old study room was being used any more. Perhaps that was just as well. It meant he wasn't likely to be disturbed if he lingered for a bit._

With a smile, he wandered in and perched on the edge of the table close to the outer wall, the one that he and Severus had always used for studying and other more pleasurable activities. Remembering those days, how happy he'd been in their relationship, he couldn't help wishing that things were different now. Here they were, both at Hogwarts once again, yet they barely spoke or acknowledged each other's existence. It was all so different from when they were young, when they never seemed to run out of things to say to each other.

True, often their conversations took the form of arguments, but arguing with Severus was nothing like arguing with anyone else. Even though, in a battle of wit and verbiage, Remus almost always lost, he never regretted trying, and he was always ready for more. Now they didn't even look at each other unless they couldn't avoid it, much less talk…or argue. He'd never realized before how much silence could hurt.

Suddenly the door creaked open and a dark figure blocked the dim light from the hall.

"Lupin," whispered Severus softly, surprise evident in his tone.

Remus turned his head toward the voice and smiled at Severus, still caught up in a web of pleasant memories from the past, his smile had an invitation in it that he didn't realize he was sending. "Hello, Severus," he murmured. "You're late. I've been waiting for you."

Severus drew himself up and shook his head uncertainly. "What?"

Coming back to reality, Remus shook himself sharply. "Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin, rubbing a hand across his face in embarrassment. "I...uh…was thinking out loud. Remembering… Pay no attention. What brings you here at this time of night?"

"I always make my rounds at this time of the evening." Severus answered simply, still eyeing Remus warily.

Remus got up off the table and dusted his trousers with his free hand. "Of course. It's late, and I should return to my room and finish grading my second year essays. They'll be expecting to get them back tomorrow."

Severus stepped back into the corridor and Remus joined him by the door, extinguishing his handful of flames.

For a moment they just stared at each other, the memories of their shared past in that room seemed almost a physical presence beside them. Remus glanced back into the darkness for a moment before turning to Severus with a sad smile.

"The time we spent together in this room was a long time ago now, but the memories are as clear as ever. I miss you, Severus. I miss being friends. Is there no way we could begin again? Find some way to get along as we used to?"

Severus' eyes flickered toward the darkened chamber for a moment before returning to study Remus' face. When he opened his mouth to speak, for a moment, Remus was sure that he was going to agree, but instead he simply said, "Goodnight, Lupin."

Then he turned his back and vanished into the darkness of the dungeon.

Returning his thoughts to the present, Remus smiled and rapped his knuckles gently against the dusty table. Severus hadn't agreed that night, but he hadn't disagreed either, and, slowly, despite a few missteps along the way, they did forge their relationship anew. Even when Sirius returned to upset things again, the resulting furor didn't produce a lasting enmity. Gradually they found their way back to each other once more, almost as if something larger than the two of them was drawing them together against everyone and everything that tried to tear them apart.

Could they possibly do it again, after even more turmoil, recrimination and pain? There was only one way to know for sure, but first he had to find Severus. It seemed there was only one more place to look for clues, and he'd better get to it. With a final lingering look at the shadowed room, Remus closed the door softly and headed out of Hogwarts.

 

~~~o~~~

 

Closing the door behind his final customer, Severus drew a long black shade down across the front window. There'd been a steady stream of traffic in and out of the shop all day, and he was more than ready for a bit of peace and quiet.

He made a quick circuit of the room, straightening the vials, boxes, and bottles on his shelves until everything stood very exactly in its proper place. The neatness of the room contrasted sharply with the turmoil of his thoughts. As long as he was busy, it was easy to stay focused on practical matters of work, but as soon as he found himself alone, his treacherous thoughts insisted on sneaking back into his past and rummaging through neatly buried memories, tossing them back into the light of his consciousness where he found them hard to avoid.

He was beginning to think he'd be better off to stop fighting it. No matter what he tried to focus on, something always came along to remind him of the past and those he'd shared it with. Maybe it was simply too soon to expect to be able to banish everyone and everything he'd once cared for from his life. He'd only been here for a few months and he hadn't made any connections in his new life to rival those of his old. He sighed. Most likely he never would. What would be the point?

Shoving the green curtain aside, he walked into his storeroom to inspect and tidy the shelves there as well. Once finished with that, he sniffed at the cauldron simmering faintly on the small hearth. Yet another pain-killing potion was ready to be decanted.

With care, Severus lifted the cauldron off its hook over the grate and placed it on the fireproof surface of his workbench. Then while the mixture cooled, he extinguished the remaining fire, mostly just embers at this time of day, and magically cleared the hearth. After laying in materials for tomorrow's brewing, he took a box of slim glass bottles from under the workbench and began to fill them with the still warm potion.

The familiar rhythm of filling, sealing and labeling the bottles with potion was a comforting activity with which to end his day, but he was beginning to realize that running an apothecary shop in a small village was not going to be quite the absorbing experience he'd hoped it would be. The people were accepting, business was brisk, and he was definitely kept busy, but when all was said and done, there really wasn't much challenge to it.

He could brew and concoct healing potions, sleeping draughts, burn-healing pastes, cleaning solutions, and indigestion powders, his most popular sellers, in his sleep. He missed having occasion to brew something a bit more interesting and complicated, such as a Draught of Living Death, Polyjuice, or the Wolfsbane potion.

Setting the newly filled bottles in their place on the storeroom shelf, he checked to see that the back door was locked, extinguished the lamps and left the small room. He paused by the counter in the back of the shop, lifted the rather bedraggled black, dictating quill off its notebook and, caressing it fondly, he laid it flat on the bench's wooden surface. The quill had been a birthday gift from Lily Evans. The last he'd ever received from her before they'd argued and stopped spending time together. Before their lives took off down opposing paths from which neither of them returned unscathed.

Severus closed the worn green notebook beside the quill and ran a finger along the edge of its cover. This, too, had been a gift…from Remus Lupin, the year he'd returned to teach at Hogwarts, and they'd unexpectedly renewed the intimate relationship of their youth. His thoughts drifted back to that all too brief time.

 _Severus crept up on the open doorway and peered inside. Fully expecting to catch some errant student out of bed without permission, he was shocked to find his fellow teacher sitting on the corner of one of the room's long tables instead, his face gently illuminated by a wavering handful of blue flame. The soft, bluish light took years off Remus' weary face and, seeing it so, transported Severus back to their boyhood, to a time when he and Remus used to spend hours in this very room at this same table absorbed in activities much more pleasurable than schoolwork._

"Lupin," whispered Severus softly, surprise evident in his tone. Why was the man here of all places?

Remus turned his head toward the voice and smiled at Severus, his smile held an invitation that Severus found himself impulsively yearning to answer. "Hello, Severus," he murmured. "You're late. I've been waiting for you."

Surprised at Remus' boldness and uncertain of how to answer, Severus could only murmur a confused, "What?"

Then, as if coming out of a trance, Severus saw Remus shake himself sharply, his cheeks suddenly glowed a faint red. "Sorry," he said. "I...uh…was thinking out loud. Remembering… Pay no attention. What brings you here at this time of night?"

"I always make my rounds at this time of the evening," said Severus, still watching Remus carefully. Seeing the man sitting there at their table like that, brought back so many memories and feelings that Severus believed he'd discarded and buried long ago. How annoying to discover he was wrong.

Suddenly Remus stood up and brushed dust from his trousers with his free hand. "Of course. It's late, and I should return to my room and finish grading my second year essays. They'll be expecting to get them back tomorrow."

As Remus approached, Severus stepped back into the corridor to make room for him, but the man stopped in the doorway, far too close for Severus' peace of mind as he banished the flames in his hand, leaving them in the shadowy dimness of the hallway.

For a moment they just stared at each other, unable to avoid the overwhelming memories of their shared past that spilled from the empty room to hover hauntingly around them. Remus glanced back into the darkness for an instant before turning to Severus with a smile tinged with sadness.

"The time we spent together in this room was a long time ago now, but the memories are as clear as ever. I miss you, Severus. I miss being friends. Is there no way we could begin again? Find some way to get along as we used to?"

Severus didn't know what to say. Unbidden his own eyes glanced toward the dark room, as if seeking reassurance in the past. As much as he suddenly wanted to agree with Remus, he simply couldn't bring himself to say the words. So he avoided the question instead, said a brisk goodnight, and turned around and headed back down the corridor to his own quarters.

Once behind closed doors, he'd paced his room for hours, totally absorbed in his memories of Remus, both good and bad. Warm thoughts of their time together as students and the joy he'd once felt in his company alternated with the still vividly remembered horror he'd experienced when the truth of Remus' lycanthropy had been revealed in such a brutal fashion.

Never in his life had he felt such anger, such hatred, such betrayal…such fear.

Yes, the worst of his anger and hatred had been aimed at Black, who hadn't cared in the slightest if Severus had lived or died in the tunnel that night, and at Potter. No matter what high-minded reasons he gave for his "heroic rescue", it was vividly clear that he only did what he did to save Black from the consequences of his stupid, murderous actions.

But the fear…that was directed solely at Remus, the boy he thought he knew; the boy he believed in his innermost secret heart might actually rival Lily Evans in his affection. For him, what he felt more than anything was an overwhelming sense of betrayal and wave after wave of cold, gut-wrenching fear, and the shame that came with it.

Even now, years later, he could still remember how sick he'd felt at the thought that the boy he'd trusted in a more intimate manner than he'd ever trusted anyone, had betrayed that trust so badly. He'd finally mastered his fear and revulsion, but he'd carried the betrayal in his heart for many a long, cold, empty year. Yet how valid were those feelings really?

Severus sank into a chair by the fire and stared into the dancing flames with haunted eyes, for the first time trying to see things from Remus' perspective. Had Remus really betrayed his trust by keeping what he was a secret? After all, this wasn't any ordinary secret. His very life would be at stake if he guessed wrong in who he could count on. Look how wrong he was to trust Potter and Black! Neither of them thought of the consequences to Remus when they used what he was to get back at an enemy.

What if Remus had told him his secret? Would he have accepted it? Kept it?

Reluctantly, he shook his head. No. He knew he wouldn't have. He'd been taught to fear and revile werewolves all his life. If Remus had been foolish enough to tell him what he was, he'd have run for his life straight to the Headmaster, and if he got no satisfaction there, as he was pretty sure now he wouldn't have, he'd have exposed him to the entire school and felt perfectly justified in doing so.

So if he was honest, he had to admit that he couldn't really blame Remus for his reticence. He even remembered Remus bringing the subject up once, in a general fashion, ever so casually asking his opinion on the subject of werewolves.

He'd told him in no uncertain terms that he thought them inhuman monsters unfit to live around normal folk. Faced with that testimony, how could he expect him to own up to being one of those hated creatures? Remus hadn't ventured an opinion of his own then, and the subject had been dropped. After that talk, they hadn't met again for almost two weeks, a much longer stretch than they usually spent without contact.

In fact, he'd begun to wonder if anything was wrong when Remus suddenly reappeared, acting as he always did, with the muttered excuse that he'd just been busy and had thought he'd get more work done in the library. By that point their sexual activities had taken up more time in the study room than their academic ones, so Severus hadn't been able to argue the point. He'd just been so happy that Remus had returned that he hadn't questioned him further.

A log crumbled, sending a flight of sparks into the air and startling Severus back to awareness that he'd spent almost the entire night arguing with himself over Remus Lupin. He sighed, sat up and stretched. Finally he thought he knew what he should do. Bumping into Remus in their special place tonight had brought back so many memories of the good times, and all at once the good memories seemed so much more important than the bad. Perhaps he could give the man another chance. At least, they could ease the worst of the tension that had existed since he'd returned to Hogwarts and talk again. It wouldn't hurt to try, would it?

In the end, he'd given in to temptation and had never truly regretted it, until he'd had to break things off for good to keep Remus safe and then watched from afar as the man he loved married someone else.

Lily and Remus, the two lost loves of his life. And where did loving them get him? Living alone on an island under an assumed name, apparently. Severus sighed and shook his head. Not that he could really blame that on either Lily Evans or Remus Lupin. He'd made his own choices and now he had to live with the consequences, and really, the consequences weren't all that bad. Certainly they beat spending the rest of his life freezing in a cell in Azkaban prison or eternity moldering away under some headstone in whatever tiny cemetery would have him.

Things could definitely be a whole lot worse than they were, and he knew it. He removed his robe from a hook beside the storeroom door and replaced it with his apron. Then he turned out the rest of the lamps with a flick of his wand and headed out of the shop, locking it carefully behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

Remus stood on the cracked sidewalk and stared up at Severus' family home. It wasn't much to look at. The place was even more depressing than the last hovel he'd called his own, which was saying something. The huge chimney of the nearby abandoned mill towered over the house like a watchful sentry, but Remus didn't think it would do more than cast a weary eye his way if he tried to go inside. The house was plainly deserted and looked as if it always had been. No doubt the long-suffering sentry found little left worth protecting.

Stepping up to the front door, he tried to glance in through the front windows but the dull, sagging curtains completely blocked his view, so he reached out and tried the doorknob. Considering the air of abandonment the house exuded, there was a part of him that almost expected to find it open and unlocked, but it wasn't. The lock yielded easily to a simple Alohomora, though.

The total lack of any kind of protective wards on the house was a surprise. Even empty as it was, this house belonged to Severus, and he wasn't one to leave things that belonged to him open for anyone to do what they wished with them. This thought gave Remus a moment's pause. If the house was easy to enter, it was either because Severus wanted it to be or because he didn't feel there was anything there worth elaborate protections. Remus sincerely hoped it was the former and, opening the door, stepped inside.

The front door opened directly into a dreary looking sitting room filled with floor to ceiling bookcases containing a huge number of dark, dust-laden volumes. In fact, everything in the room, from the threadbare furniture to the lamp hanging from the ceiling was thickly covered in a smothering layer of dust.

The breath of air that came inside with Remus stirred up the dust's feathery surface and caused him to sneeze violently several times as he closed the door behind him. Trying not to breathe too deeply, he lit his wand so he could see his way around in the dimness and made a relatively quick circuit of the few rooms on the ground floor.

As he found himself back in the sitting room again, Remus frowned. He'd intended to begin his search on the upper floor, reasoning that most papers and personal items would likely be stored there, but he'd poked into every room on the ground floor without finding a staircase that would take him either up or down.

He stood for a moment in the middle of the sitting room and considered the lack of an obvious staircase thoughtfully, then, pointing his wand at the first section of bookshelves, he cast a standard opening spell.

When nothing happened, he repeated this action with every section until one of them sprang open, revealing a narrow flight of stairs that led down into darkness. Pleased to be on the right track, he continued to toss spells at bookcases until another hidden door was revealed, this time hiding a staircase that led up.

Remus smiled and relit his wand. Trust Severus to be more mysterious and secretive than he needed to be, he thought affectionately as he set his foot on the first step and began to climb.

The upstairs of the small house felt cramped, the ceilings low. There were two bedrooms, one a bit larger than the other and a rather dismal looking bathroom between them. The smaller bedroom contained a cot with rumpled sheets and a threadbare blanket, a spindly-legged desk and an assortment of ancient looking sealed boxes. Remus wrinkled his nose in disgust. It also smelled faintly of rodent droppings.

The larger bedroom held a bed that was neatly made up. A wardrobe, a bookcase with glass panels on the front to keep out the dust, a large desk with a comfortable chair, and a chest at the foot of the bed completed the room's furnishings. As soon as Remus stepped into the room, he was sure that this was where Severus stayed when he was in residence. The smaller room might well have been his childhood bedroom, but there seemed no doubt that once he inherited the house from his parents, he took over their larger room and made it his own.

Remus crossed to the room's front window and pushed the curtains open to let in more daylight. A few dust motes floated lazily in the weak sunbeams that filtered through the dirty glass, but somehow this room seemed a bit less dust laden than the others did. As if someone had been here not all that long ago.

Hoping this wouldn't be another dead end, Remus started to search. He began with the desk, but found it empty of anything other than a couple of old quills and a half dried bottle of black ink. Next he turned his attention to the wardrobe. There he found two worn black robes and a single white shirt with a tattered collar, castoffs that Severus simply never got around to discarding most likely.

After a brief look beneath the bed, which revealed nothing but more clumps of dust, Remus knelt at its foot to examine the wooden chest that stood there. A quick scan with his wand revealed that the chest, unlike anything else he'd come across, was both locked and carefully warded which was much more what he'd expect of Severus. It was likely to make things harder, though. Deciding to start at the beginning, he tried a simple unlocking spell. Unsurprisingly, the chest refused to yield to such elementary measures.

Turning his attention to the warding, he scanned the chest thoroughly. Though he knew more than a fair number of useful protective wards, it was quickly apparent that whatever spell Severus had used here wasn't one that was familiar to him. For the next few minutes, he determinedly threw every ward-breaking spell he could think of at the chest to no effect.

Finally, Remus sat back and carefully considered his options. Apparently a frontal assault wasn't going to work. He snorted to himself. This chest belonged to Severus, when had the direct approach ever worked with the man? He always preferred things to be subtle, difficult and often so convoluted that your head hurt just thinking about them.

As he pondered his next move, Remus felt a sudden urge to touch the chest and, when he examined the feeling, it became clear that the urge was not his own. The feeling was subtle, but strong, and it definitely came from some external source. Something was encouraging him to put his hand on the chest itself. A spell that reached out to lure a victim in was unusual but not unheard of. He knew it was probably foolish to give in to the impulse and actually touch the chest, but at the moment, he wasn't sure what else to try, so he decided to see what would happen if he got a bit closer.

When he moved his hand to within an inch or so of the lock, he could feel a magical warmth buzzing gently against his palm. The warmth had a very welcoming feel to it. Almost as if the chest was waiting specifically for him. Taking a deep breath, he decided to take a chance and placed his hand on the lock itself. To his surprise, he immediately heard a loud click as the lock opened and the warm touch against his palm gave a gentle surge, almost like a caress, before slowly fading away.

Had the lock been keyed specifically to his touch or would any living hand have opened it? He considered the possibilities and slowly shook his head. If you were going to let anyone unlock something with a touch, there was no logic to locking it in the first place. The chest must have been keyed to him in particular. It was the only thing that made sense. Remus felt a surge of hope at that thought and quickly pushed open the lid.

The chest was large enough to hold several thick blankets and quilts, which was probably its original purpose, but currently it contained only two relatively small boxes. Removing both boxes, Lupin took them over to the desk, where the light was better, and began to examine them.

The first box held family photographs. Most of the people in the pictures exhibited a tendency toward large noses, with and without a hook, dark hair and eyes, and rather solemn expressions. Several of the pictures appeared to be Severus himself as a very young child and then as the boy Remus remembered so well.

Looking down into Severus' guarded dark eyes in a picture that had to be from his first or second year at Hogwarts, Remus was struck forcefully by the passage of time. Severus looked so young. Although so much of that time was vividly etched in Remus' memory, he seldom gave any thought to how much time had actually passed since those days. It really was a very long time ago now. Tentatively he reached out to caress a pale cheek and the boy in the picture grimaced and sidled out of the frame, not wanting to be touched.

As Remus continued to look through the pictures, he noticed that most of them had inscriptions on the back, all written by the same unfamiliar hand in block capitals with faded black ink. It wasn't particularly odd to have writing on the back of a picture, of course. Some people labeled their photographs and others never bothered, but if they did label them, they usually kept to the same pattern. Yet, as he flipped through the box, he noticed that one picture, and only one, had an inscription that stood out from the rest, written in red ink. He picked up the labeled picture. It was a rather old photograph, possibly done in a studio, of a formally dressed couple of middle years.

Turning the picture over, he read the inscription on the back. Marcus and Imogene Prince was printed boldly in faded black ink. Below this identification, a few words were scrawled in red. _A Prince is always a Prince, no matter the raiment._ The latter message was definitely written by Severus. Remus recognized his writing immediately and the ink looked fresh and unfaded. The message it was meant to convey wasn't quite so obvious, however. Setting this photograph aside with a thoughtful frown, he spread out the rest of the pictures and looked at them more carefully.

They seemed pretty evenly divided between photographs that moved and those that didn't. At first, he wondered why Severus would have any family photographs that didn't move, but then a possibility dawned on him. Severus never talked about his family. Remus had always assumed that since Severus was a Slytherin, and almost everyone in that House was a pure-blood, that Severus was one as well. But what if he wasn't? What if, like Remus himself, Severus was a half-blood with one side of his family magical and the other side not?

Remus quickly divided up the pictures, moving and still, and read the inscriptions. None of the photographs labeled with the name of Snape, with the exception of those Severus himself was in, had anyone in them who moved, while all of the images of people named Prince moved about freely. That would certainly make it seem as if his father's family, the Snapes, were Muggles while his mother's family, the Princes, were wizards. Which definitely made Severus a half-blood. Interesting to know, but he wasn't sure how that knowledge helped him very much. Not sure that he was getting anywhere, Remus repacked the pictures, leaving out only the one with the odd inscription in red, and turned to the second box.

This box turned out to be full of postcards. There didn't seem to be any theme to the cards, they came from all over Britain and beyond. A lot of them seemed quite old. Some had messages on them as well as the marks of some sort of posting, others didn't, but none of them seemed to have any particular significance. Remus was about to replace them all and shove them back in the chest when, at the back of the pack, the movement of one of the postcards caught his eye.

As he pulled out this particular postcard, he realized suddenly that it was the only wizarding postcard in the entire box. The front of the card showed a lovely beach scene, with trees swaying in a gentle breeze and waves lapping at a sandy shore. In the distance, a quaint village of colorful houses wound its way up a hillside. Flipping the card over, Remus noticed that it had writing on the back, but the writing wasn't a message addressed to anyone in particular, instead it was a quotation.

 _"It is sometimes expedient to forget who we are." Maxim 233 by Publilius Syrus_ was written in red ink again in Severus' distinctive hand. Now definitely convinced he was on the right track, Remus smiled in mounting excitement. Retrieving the photograph of Marcus and Imogene Prince, he laid it next to the postcard and carefully examined both messages.

The ink and handwriting were the same. Both were definitely written by Severus and probably at the same time. Other than when he was correcting a student's work, he'd never known Severus to use red ink. These were obviously written to stand out, but what did they mean?

The message on the postcard seemed clear. Severus was going into hiding, leaving who he was behind. Could the postcard itself tell where he went? The picture on the postcard was simply labeled: Mosaica. He'd never heard of it, but it certainly appeared to be a real place. A spot of research was clearly in order.

Remus picked up the photograph again. "A Prince is always a Prince…" he murmured thoughtfully. Then a slow smile crossed his face. Of course! If he's _forgotten_ Severus Snape, left him behind, he'd need another name to be known by. If his mother's name was Prince then Severus was a Prince as well. It all fit. Now he just needed to discover where in the world to find Mosaica.

~~~o~~~

Severus settled into a quiet corner of the neighborhood pub and took a deep drink from his glass. With a sigh, he set the glass down on the table in front of him, admiring the deep tawny color of the liquid within. A color he always associated with Remus Lupin. Just one more thing to remind him of the man. How did Remus end up being his true love anyway? Why wasn't it Lily Evans?

For years, he'd been sure it was. No one had meant more to him than Lily did. He'd loved her ever since they were children together, practically since the first moment he saw her. Certainly, since the first moment she'd stuck up for him to her snotty sister, a sour old bat even as a child. He'd given up his whole life for Lily. Put himself in jeopardy worse than any other to atone for his mistakes, avenge her death and protect her only child. So why wasn't the love he'd felt for her the true love of his life?

That love had been deep and its hold on him had never slackened, but he realized now that it might have, if not for James Potter. Without Potter's effect on their lives, his love for Lily would probably have eventually faded into a deep and enduring friendship, the sort of friendship that fills your life with richness and adds color and warmth to the hours of your days. Love, indeed, but not romantic love.

Potter changed all that. Jealousy and competition twisted his feelings to such a degree that not even he realized until far too late that what he felt for Lily had become secondary to his need to get the better of James. He wanted Lily all the more because James wanted her, too. Eventually it was James' behavior that motivated his love, his desire and his obsession with Lily. And obsession it undoubtedly became, warped unrecognizably from the pure, loving friendship it had once been.

Lily Evans was the first person in his life to truly _be_ a friend to him. She'd cared about him and accepted him as he was, flaws and all; something no one had ever done before. That sort of caring was something he never expected to find again, but he had…in Remus Lupin, though it took him a long time to understand that.

Despite a very sharp and immediate physical attraction to Remus, he'd actively resisted forming any sort of real relationship with him for a long time. After all, Remus was everything he was supposed to despise. He was a Gryffindor for starters, that immediately put him in the camp of the enemy, and to make matters even worse, he was a friend of Potter and Black, two of the most objectionable cretins ever to walk the earth. On the face of it, he never should have given Remus Lupin a second glance, but against his better judgment, he did.

No matter how the two of them were pushed and pulled by fate and the opinions of others, Remus always remained in the back of Severus' life, filling a place and fulfilling a need he couldn't even acknowledge for a long, long time. It wasn't until he had to face Remus and lie to him, cutting him out of his life forever, until he had to watch him marry someone else, that he truly realized what the man meant to him and always would.

Who decides what true love is anyway? How does the heart know the truth when the mind is often so determined to follow a different path? It had taken many years and lots of painful soul searching for him to understand that Remus and not Lily was the one he truly, deeply cared about.

Severus took another thoughtful drink from his glass. He knew now there was no point in trying to forget about Remus. He'd been trying and failing for months now, and all his agonizing had accomplished was to annoy him, give him bad dreams, and far too many headaches he didn't need. Remus Lupin was the one true love of his life. He simply needed to acknowledge that fact to himself and accept that despite his feelings, it was quite likely that he'd never see him again.

Of course, that wasn't a certainty. His kiss had awakened Remus from his deathlike sleep. That had to mean that despite what Remus might believe, those feelings ran both ways. After all, if he wasn't Remus' true love, the man really would be dead now, and he wasn't.

Surely sooner or later Remus would wonder about his survival, would want to seek out the truth. If he did, wouldn't he want to see him again? If for no other reason than to force him to answer the questions he hadn't answered when they were last together? If the man wanted to find him, the clues were there, he'd made sure of that. But he'd have to want to dig them out. The question was…would he?

Severus drained his glass and set it on the table. Glancing aimlessly around the smoky pub, he noticed it had become much more crowded than when he'd come in. Suddenly, a faint shiver trickled down his spine. Instincts, honed to razor sharpness by a life spent guarding his back, clicked into place and whispered in his ear that someone was watching him. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the room once more, carefully probing the crowd now for signs of undue interest on anyone's part, but nothing seemed amiss. There were people looking his way, of course, but no one seemed to be taking a particular interest and, as he searched, the feeling faded away like a wisp of smoke on a cool evening breeze.

Did he imagine it? Possibly, he conceded. Or at least, he might have misinterpreted what he felt. He was still a relative newcomer in town, and as such, was likely to be the object of fairly harmless curiosity by more than a few of those he came across. Most likely that was what had put him so suddenly on his guard. Probably someone had pointed him out to someone else who'd overindulged a wee bit as the man to see about getting a really top notch headache remedy. He snorted shortly. Another busy day tomorrow would most likely be the result.

Deciding that he was tired and should call it a night before he let paranoia carry him away, he got to his feet, nodded amiably at a nearby waiter and headed for the door.

Once outside on the darkened street, he decided not to push his luck by walking home, even on such a balmy, pleasant night, just in case he hadn't been totally wrong to be suspicious. So instead of taking an evening stroll up the hill, he immediately Apparated away.


	7. Chapter 7

Sitting at a quiet table at the back of the Diagon Alley branch of the Ars Magica Public Library, Remus flipped through books on wizarding holiday destinations and communities. Wherever Mosaica was, it didn't seem to be a popular tourist haven. Not that he was surprised at that. Severus would never choose someplace to hide that was crowded with tourists.

Remus set another book aside with a sigh. Despite the fact that the postcard with its sandy beach and sparkling water looked tropical, it didn't show up in any book featuring tropical destinations. Deciding to look a bit closer to home, he picked up a book on communities around the Mediterranean and found what he wanted almost immediately.

A sense of excitement gripped him as he began to read about Mosaica. It was a good sized island that had been settled primarily by refugees from a wide variety of European communities. There were three main settlements on the island whose population was entirely magical. Most of the native English speakers lived in the second largest town, Owl's Hill, named for the large number of owls imported by the new colonists to keep in touch with the folks back home. As Remus stared at the pictures of waving foliage and colorful cottages, he knew he'd finally found the right place.

While in the library, he also looked up the source of the quotation on the postcard. Apparently Publilius Syrus had begun life as a slave, but he'd won his freedom due to wit and ingenuity and had gone on to a life of acclaim. That certainly sounded like someone Severus would appreciate. Remus sat back in his chair and pulled out a pocket watch, a gift from Severus in happier times. Popping open the cover, he reread the inscription inside. _"-from a bad beginning great friendships have sprung-"_ \-- Terence.

Remus nodded to himself. Terence was a playwright of the old Roman Republic who also began life as a slave. It seemed that Severus was drawn to the work of former slaves who were eventually freed and went on to do memorable things. Who could blame him? Hadn't he been in exactly that same position with Voldemort and…Dumbledore? Remus squirmed uncomfortably as he mentally added the former Headmaster's name to that of their former foe, but he was honest enough to admit the inclusion was correct.

Severus' parting words flitted once more through his thoughts. _"Don't you understand, Remus, I'm finally free! Free from them all. Don't tell them I'm alive. Just let me go, and you'll never have to be troubled by me again."_ There had been such earnestness and intensity in Severus' voice and a moment of doubt suddenly assailed Remus. This was what Severus had dreamed of for so long, to be free to live his own life as he chose. Did Remus really have the right to seek him out? To intrude on his hard won freedom?

"-- _you'll never have to be troubled by me again._ " What if the man really didn't want to see him again? He thought back to the last real conversation they'd had before the final battle, when Severus had broken off their relationship. He'd been harsh, cruel. His words had been intended to hurt, and they had.

"-- _you never meant anything to me. You always were far too trusting and sentimental. You're nothing but a gullible fool, though one who's good in bed, I'll grant you. Why else would I have ever wasted my time on such a worthless, mangy monster? But I no longer have the time to waste. It's over, Lupin. I never want to see you again._ "

Severus' voice as he'd said those words had overflowed with venom and contempt. Remus knew that moment, that speech, was one he would never forget. Nothing anyone had ever said to him had hurt more, but had Severus really meant it? Looking back now, trying to see past the pain the words had given him, he realized that it was hard to judge.

Obviously, he'd believed him at the time, but Severus was a master at hiding his true feelings. And though he didn't want to defy Severus' wishes, what about his own? Quite simply, he missed Severus. He'd tried to bury his feelings for the man, had tried to go on and build a different life, but it hadn't been satisfactory, and now that it was gone, it was Severus he thought of, not Dora, he realized with a stab of guilt.

No. He needed to see Severus again. Needed to talk to him, to lay it all out on the table and know once and for all, the truth about everything. If Severus really keyed that chest containing the clues to his whereabouts to Remus, then he must have wanted him to find them and, by extension, Severus himself. It was the only thing that made sense. And if that was true, then maybe the things he said the last time they talked weren't true after all. Perhaps Severus had another reason for breaking off their relationship. With everything that was spinning out of control around them back then, it was certainly possible…maybe even probable.

Remus got to his feet and began to pile up his books. He had to find out. Even if he was wrong, what would he lose by trying? Nothing that he hadn't already lost. But if he was right, he just might regain something very precious. It was definitely worth the risk.

~~~o~~~

 

"One healing potion to Mrs. Alan Bitterroot – Seaboard Cottage.

One pot of burn healing salve to Miss Alegia Runestar – 6 Ashend Lane.

One bottle, Pepperup potion to Mr. Richard Cottle – 212 B Carpenter Street."

Severus paused in making his list and glanced around for the bottle of Pepperup. Not finding it at hand, he frowned in annoyance. He thought he'd taken everything he needed from his shelves to be packed up for Thaddeus to deliver, but apparently he'd overlooked the Pepperup.

Placing the burn salve in the delivery box, he stepped away from the counter and crossed the room to pluck a bottle of Pepperup from its shelf.

As he grasped the bottle and began to head back to the counter and his list, the shop door burst opened and two men hurried inside. Severus turned toward them, intending to tell them he'd be with them in a moment, but before he could get the words from his mouth, one of them, a tall older man with a squint in one eye, blasted him off his feet and into a section of shelving.

Severus fell to the floor amidst a welter of broken glass, shattered shelving, and spilled potions. Before he could recover his wits, the man who'd shot him grabbed him by the front of his apron and slammed him back into the wall, jamming a wand tightly under his chin.

"Hello, Snape," the man sneered. "Remember us?"

Severus peered up at the two hostile figures hovering over him, wands at the ready. Unfortunately, he did remember them, though he'd certainly hoped never to actually see them again. Jake Ackland and Mortimer Greene. Two minor but nasty Death Eaters who obviously escaped the purge conducted after Voldemort was destroyed.

Couldn't the Ministry Aurors even clean up a mess properly once others had done the difficult work? And how the hell had these two tracked him here? He'd been so careful not to leave any clues, except those specifically aimed at Remus. No one else should have been able to be sure he was even alive, not to mention figure out where he'd gone. These two were apparently brighter than he'd given them credit for… or luckier.

Thinking that he had nothing to lose by trying, Snape glared up at his attackers and said, "I think you have me confused with somebody else. My name is Prince."

The Death Eater with the squint just laughed. Snatching the glasses from Severus' face, he threw them on the floor and his partner, a young, heavy-set man with a bit of stubby beard, ground them to bits beneath his heel.

The older man glanced at the younger and pointed toward the front of the shop. "Go lock the door and pull down the shade. We don't want to be interrupted." As the younger one went to do as instructed, the older one turned back to his captive and smiled nastily.

"You don't really expect to fool anyone who knows you with a pair of glasses, a haircut and a change of wardrobe, do you? We all know you're Severus Snape, so you can drop this Prince nonsense."

"What do you want, Ackland?" said Severus, deciding the man was right.

"Revenge," snarled Ackland in a low, hateful voice. Then he hauled back his fist and smashed it into Severus' nose, breaking it painfully. Severus fell sideways into the mess of broken glass and oozing potions, pressing his hand to his face as he vainly tried to contain the sudden rush of blood and gore from his damaged nose.

Filled with frustration, he stared up at the two hovering over him. With both of them aiming their wands in his face, he knew he'd never be able to get at his own before they hexed him into tomorrow. "I don't understand. Revenge for what?" he mumbled wetly, deciding to try a new tack. "You escaped. I escaped. We've obviously all gone into hiding, why…"

"Oh, cut the crap, Snape," said Greene before he could finish. A copy of the Daily Prophet was flung to the floor for him to look at. His own scowling face stared up at him from its yellowed front page under the headline: **Valiant Potter Acclaims Snape as Hero, Former Headmaster of Hogwarts hailed as Heroic Spy in the Cause of Light.** Severus scanned the first lines of the article with mixed feelings. How ironic to finally be granted some of the recognition he truly deserved, only to have it backfire so splendidly. And how in the world had he missed seeing this edition of the Prophet?

Noting the tattered and worn look of the paper, he glanced at the date and realized that it was a very old article, apparently printed before he began to subscribe to the Prophet again. He'd moved around for some time after leaving Britain, gathering things he needed, healing, perfecting his disguise, a colossal waste of time, it now appeared. Damnation! If he'd known that Potter was going to share credit for once, he'd have been much more careful.

"You were a spy! Right under the Master's nose and he never saw it," exclaimed Ackland in disgust. "According to that little bastard, Potter, may he rot in Hell, we have you to thank for everything blowing up as it did…the Dark Lord's downfall, the need for us to leave Britain, having to go into hiding."

Greene stepped closer, glass crunching beneath his big feet. "So we're here to thank you, Snape." Before Severus could properly brace himself, Greene kicked him savagely in the stomach and chest until he felt a rib break and fresh blood gushed from his mouth to join that already streaming from his nose.

As Severus fought for breath against waves of dizziness and pain, thin cords shot out of both Death Eaters' wands, binding him tightly. "What are you planning to do with me?" he gasped.

Ackland laughed unpleasantly. "Oh, we plan to kill you, right, Mortie?"

"Yeah," his partner agreed. "We're going to take you somewhere quiet, where we won't be interrupted and spend some time doing it right. Don't expect a quick death, Snape. We've had a rough time these last few months, and you'll have to answer for that."

"It's hardly my fault if the two of you were too stupid to make contingency plans in case the Dark Lord failed," sneered Severus weakly.

"He wouldn't have failed if it wasn't for you," screamed Greene angrily. "Crucio!"

Severus' body jerked and flailed in silent agony for what felt like an eternity until Ackland grasped Greene's arm and forced him to release the spell.

"That's enough. You'll get your chance once we've got him away from here. We don't want anyone coming along and catching us now."

"Yeah, okay," said Greene reluctantly. "There's plenty of time to make him suffer."

"Right! Now where should we take him? You're the one who knows the island," said Ackland.

Greene grinned. "Let's take him to Clyto's Cave. Tide's going to turn soon. Once we've had a bit of fun, we can all watch it come in together. Of course, some of us will be a bit closer to the water than others."

He laughed and Ackland joined in as he bent and searched his prisoner's unresisting body. Finding Severus' wand in a pocket, he tossed it carelessly on the floor. Then he straightened up and gestured toward their captive. "Bring him along. We'll go out the back so no one will see us."

With a grunt of agreement, Greene bent down, pulled Severus out of the mess on the floor and heaved his body over a shoulder like a sack of meal. Then the three of them headed through the curtain to the back storeroom and out into the small yard beyond.


	8. Chapter 8

A light breeze ruffled his hair when Remus appeared on a hilltop overlooking the settlement of Owl's Hill. Taking a deep breath of the salt-laden air, he glanced out toward the sparkling blue ocean beyond the waving trees. What a beautiful place Severus had chosen for his new home. If indeed he was here and Remus hadn't merely misread the signs.

No. Remus shook his head firmly. Severus was here; he had to be. All the clues pointed this way. If he wasn't here, then there was no place else to look, and he wasn't ready to face that possibility. He would find Severus somehow. He had to. Whether Severus would be happy about being found was something else again, of course, but ever since he'd found those clues at Spinner's End, he'd had the feeling that Severus wouldn't be too upset if he found him. He'd just have to wait until they were actually face to face again to be sure.

Turning away from the ocean view, he headed down into the village past tidy cottages and lush gardens until he reached the first of the shops. A quick glance at the signs that lined the main street showed him what he sought. What better place to find the address of a newcomer than at the village post office?

With a hopeful smile, Remus pulled open the door and stepped into a cool, dim room where the air was alive with the soft rustlings of dozens of owls. Everything from the largest owls fit for overseas travel to the tiny, minute owls often used for local messages sat on row after row of comfortable perches, filling the post office with life. Many of the birds had their faces tucked under their wings as they napped between jobs, while others turned to eye him with interest as he approached the counter.

No human stood ready to answer his questions, but Remus spotted a silver bell sitting on the countertop. As he reached out to use it, a curtain was pushed aside and an old man with wild white hair and spectacles perched halfway down his long thin nose, came into the storefront from a room at the back.

When he saw Remus, the man shuffled forward with a smile. "I thought I heard someone come in. What can I do for you, sir? Need to send a post?"

"No. Actually I was looking for some information. I've just arrived on your lovely island, and I don't know my way around. I'm looking for a friend of mine who recently moved here. His name is Prince."

"The apothecary?" The postmaster glanced at Remus enquiringly over his spectacles.

Encouraged, Remus nodded and the old man continued. "Yes, indeed. Mr. Prince lives in the blue cottage with the peeling paint at the top of the hill at the north end of town. When you see him, you might mention that he really should put some fresh paint on that place. The climate here is tough on houses if you don't keep ahead of it." The man nodded to himself.

"The address is Larkspur Lane. Not a larkspur within 1000 miles of the place, of course, but people will bring their names with them from wherever they started. Virtually the whole island is in-comers from somewhere. Prince is just one of the latest, though he's certainly welcome. He took over the apothecary shop from old Rufus Shandy. Old Rufe wanted to retire so it was an amiable switch over and people were more than ready for it, too." He winked conspiratorially. "Old Rufe really _needed_ to retire, if you know what I mean."

Remus smiled. "My friend is an excellent apothecary. Mr. Shandy can enjoy his retirement without a care. He's left his clientele in good hands."

The postmaster laughed. "Oh, I doubt if Old Rufe has lost any sleep over the possibility that his former clients aren't being properly served. He never cared that much when he was the one serving 'em. Still, from what I've heard everyone is right pleased at the change. So far, your friend's a big improvement. Yes, indeed."

"Can you tell me where I can find the shop?" asked Remus, reasoning that at this time of day, Severus would be far more likely to be at work than at home.

"Oh, sure." The old man rested an elbow on the counter and pointed down the street with his free hand. "Head on down into town until you come to Ratchet Row. Turn left there and the apothecary is straight down at the end of the lane. Prince had a big green sign put up a couple of weeks ago. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." Remus nodded agreeably to the old man and left the post office. Turning left, he headed down the hill toward Severus' shop. With luck he'd be talking to Severus in just a few minutes. He found it hard to keep a happy smile of anticipation off his face. He was so close now.

~~~o~~~

 

Consciousness returned to Severus as he dangled upside down, facing the broad back of Mortimer Greene. He turned his face to one side to keep his broken nose from banging painfully against his captor's ribcage and squinted at the passing green and blue world in hopes of figuring out where he was being taken. But it was no good. Between the constant motion, the blood dripping into his eyes, and the disadvantage of hanging upside down, not to mention that he didn't know the island all that well yet, he wasn't able to be sure about anything other than that he was no longer in the town itself.

Hardly surprising. No self-respecting kidnapper and would be executioner would parade his newly acquired victim through the center of town unless the town was also in his hands. Since it was far more likely that these two were working alone than that they had a whole town full of confederates, he was quite prepared to find himself in one of the lonelier parts of the island. Not that he wouldn't really have enjoyed being wrong, of course.

Without warning Severus was heaved off Greene's shoulder and unceremoniously dropped. He expected to land in the foot high grass that surrounded where his captors stood, but instead, he fell through it and down several feet into a dark, rocky hole, landing painfully on a flat stony ledge to the accompaniment of jeering laughter.

With a groan, he opened his eyes and looked up through the opening in the darkness to see the two former Death Eaters peering down at him, silhouetted against the bright sky. The two men climbed down into the hole they'd tossed him into and joined him on the ledge. Then Greene shoved him onto his side, giving him another brutal blow to the ribs just because he could. Severus absorbed the blow without protest, knowing that nothing he said would help his situation in the slightest, and he didn't want to give his tormentors the satisfaction of knowing how much they'd hurt him.

As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he began to get a better sense of his surroundings. They were at the highest point in a long sloping cave. The ledge on which he lay broadened out and fell steeply away down toward a seafront entrance dozens of yards away and below, that opened onto a narrow stretch of very wet sand. As Severus watched, waves slithered across the sandy opening and broke on some jagged rocks strewn near the cave mouth. The rough stone walls beside him and above his head glistened with moisture and were encrusted with barnacles and detritus tossed up by the ocean. At high tide the entire place was apparently under water, somehow he didn't find that observation very comforting.

About halfway down the slope toward the sea entrance, a slender spire of rock extended from the roof of the cave to the floor, reminding Severus of a stick that you might wedge into the mouth of a savage creature in hopes of keeping it from biting off your hand if you were so foolish as to reach inside. All in all, it was a grim place and well isolated from the more populated sections of the island. As he looked around, Severus had a sudden sharp feeling that fate had only been toying with him by allowing him these past few months of luxurious freedom before serving him up to the dark destiny he'd always feared would be his.

A low voice muttered a spell and Severus suddenly felt his clothing vanish, though he remained tightly bound. Rough hands shoved him back down onto his face and he heard the ominous sound of a knife being pulled from its sheath. The cold metal was laid delicately against his throat for a brief moment, moving up and down with his rapidly pounding pulse.

Ackland's voice whispered harshly in his ear as the point of the knife dug ever so slightly into the flesh between his throat and his shoulder. "Welcome to Clyto's Cave. Somehow I doubt your stay will be a pleasant one." The naked blade caressed Severus' flesh lightly. "It's tempting to just slit your throat and leave your bloody body here for the fish to nibble on, but that'd be far too quick an end for you."

Severus winced as Ackland abruptly rolled him over and, with two quick strokes, carved a long, shallow T into his chest, laughing as fresh blood seeped out to stain his pale skin a lurid red. "T for traitor. So when they find you, if they find you, they won't doubt what you were."

Then Greene grabbed him roughly, dragged his body down the slope across the sharp rocky floor, and slammed him against that central column of rock he'd noticed when he first looked around. Instantly new ropes shot from Ackland's wand to bind Severus' aching, bleeding body to the rock, and then both men stood staring down at him with eager, nasty grins.

"Did you know that pirates used to use this cave to execute their prisoners, Snape?" said Greene with a smirk. "Oh, yeah. I used to love hearing the stories when I was a kid. They'd tie them to this rock, just like you're tied now and wait for the tide to come in and cover them over." He turned and pointed toward the sea entrance to the cave which had significantly more water in it than it had the last time Severus glanced that way.

"The water's going to creep up across the rocks and cover your feet and legs, then suddenly it'll be up around your waist, then your chest…then, before you know it, you'll be stretching your scrawny neck out as far as it can be stretched just to try and keep that humongous nose of yours above water, but it's a lost cause. The sea wins this contest every single time."

Both men chuckled gleefully, but Severus just glared at them from his seat on the rocky floor. If Greene had been hearing stories about this cave and this island, as a child, then most likely he'd spent quite a bit of time here over the years, which explained a lot. At least he hadn't lost his ability to cover his tracks. He wasn't followed to the island; he just had the abominably bad luck to select a hiding place where an enemy was already in residence. Fate definitely had a perverse sense of humor where he was concerned; there was no doubt about it.

"Well," Greene looked at his partner and grinned. "What should we do while we're waiting for the tide to rise and do our work for us, huh?"

Ackland stared down at Snape and smiled. "I'm glad you asked. I think we can find something to do to pass the time. We wouldn't want old Severus here to get bored now, would we?"

Both Death Eaters laughed nastily and Severus shivered at the sound as it echoed in the dim cavern. Then he silently watched the silvery, restless movement of the incoming tide, as Ackland raised his wand and pointed it at his captive's head.


	9. Chapter 9

After a quick walk down through the little town, Remus turned the corner of Ratchet Row and saw the end of his quest come into sight. The apothecary shop was a narrow building made of rosy brick, it had green shutters at the window and a shiny black door, and over the door, just as the postmaster said, hung a freshly painted sign that read: **Prince's Apothecary; Marcus Prince, proprietor**.

Remus' smile broadened as he began to walk down the short alley toward the shop. It would be a monumental coincidence for the name on the back of Severus' photograph and the name of the proprietor of this shop to be one and the same without sharing a connection. Surely, this had to be the right place.

He paused in front of the door and wiped his sweaty palms on the sides of his robe. Abruptly his heart was beating so loudly it drowned out the birdsong from the trees that surrounded him. Now that he was here, about to finally speak to Severus again after all this time, he suddenly couldn't think of a single thing to say.

What if, despite all evidence to the contrary, he _was_ wrong and Severus wasn't here? What if Severus was here but he didn't want to see him after all? What if Severus not only didn't want to see him, but laughed in his face at the very idea that Remus still cared about him? He took a deep breath. What if he stopped dithering like an idiot and simply opened the door and found out for himself?

With a mildly disgusted shake of his head, Remus marched up to the door, grabbed the doorknob, turned it and pushed, only to be brought up short when the door didn't budge. He tried again with the same result. The door was locked tight. With a puzzled frown, he stepped back away from the shop and stared at it. For the first time, he noticed that a large thick shade covered the shop's picture window, preventing him from seeing inside. Could he be too early for business hours? Maybe Severus was still at home after all.

Rubbing a thoughtful hand across his face, Remus stepped closer to the door once more. According to the schedule that was printed on the wood in bright silver letters, the shop should have opened an hour ago. Maybe it was some local holiday he knew nothing about. Although that didn't seem very likely since the post office and all the other shops he'd passed on his way through town had been open for business. He'd certainly received his share of curious glances from their doorways. So why was Severus' shop closed?

Just as he was about to see if he could peek in around the corner of the shade, a voice spoke up from behind him.

"The shop should be open, Mister. You can go on in. You won't find any finer potions or powders anywhere on the island if you're worried. Mr. Prince makes the best around. You'll see."

Remus turned and found himself facing a fresh faced, young boy with big brown eyes and a bright smile. He returned the smile. "Hello. I'm glad to hear that Mr. Prince knows his work, but I just tried the door. The shop's locked up tight."

The boy's eyebrows rose in surprise and his eyes slid from Remus to the shop door. "That's odd. Mr. Prince is always here by now. He's expecting me to come and make some deliveries for him." The boy's voice held a note of pride in it. "Maybe the door's jammed or something. Let me try it."

Without waiting for a response from Remus, the boy stepped up to the door and began to rattle the knob. When it wouldn't open for him, he thumped on the wood and began to yell. "Mr. Prince! Mr. Prince, it's Thaddeus; open up, won't ya? I'm here to make your deliveries. Mr. Prince?"

Thaddeus stepped back and scratched his head. "Huh? I wonder where he is?"

"Is there another entrance?" asked Remus.

Thaddeus nodded. "Yeah, there's a door at the back, but I don't understand why this one's locked. The shop should be open. It always is by now."

"Maybe Mr. Prince had an emergency or perhaps he's taken ill." Remus looked at the shop with concern now. Could Severus be lying inside, too sick or injured to answer the door? They had to see. "Come on, let's check the back."

Remus headed around the side of the shop toward the small open space at its rear and Thaddeus followed him. When they reached the rear of the building nothing seemed obviously amiss at first glance. However, when Remus looked closer, he noticed an irregular trail of small dark spatters accompanied by several smudged marks that probably were footprints. The suspicious tracks led down the back steps and disappeared into the surrounding grass. Kneeling, he touched one of the spots with a finger and brought it up to his face to examine. One sniff told him all he needed to know. The spots were blood.

Now thoroughly alarmed, he got to his feet and scanned the immediate area carefully. The bloody marks came to an abrupt end in a well-trod section of the small yard. Whoever left the marks had probably Apparated away from that point. Since the blood hadn't started to congeal, most likely it hadn't been too long since they left, but without knowing where his mysterious quarry had gone there was no way to follow them directly. That left Severus' shop as the only place to look for answers.

Remus drew his wand, turned away from the yard and approached the shop door cautiously. Though it appeared that whoever left the marks had gone, it was just possible that these were the marks of someone's arrival instead of leave taking, and if so, that someone could still be inside.

Stepping carefully, to avoid marring the bloody trail, Remus climbed the short flight of steps and tried the door. It opened easily to his touch.

"That's not right," Thaddeus muttered from behind Remus. "Mr. Prince always keeps the back door locked."

With his hand still on the doorknob, Remus turned and looked down at the boy. "Thaddeus, right?"

The boy nodded and Remus smiled reassuringly. "Well, Thaddeus, you wait here while I take a look inside. It could be dangerous if anyone is still in there."

Thaddeus' eyes widened, but he shook his head and looked determined. "If anything's happened to Mr. Prince, I should know about it. He's my boss. I don't even know who you are. How do I know I can trust you?"

Remus conceded the point. "I'm a friend of Mr. Prince. My name is Remus Lupin, and I just arrived for a visit."

"So you say, but anyone can say they know someone if that person isn't around to say they don't," said Thaddeus logically. "If you go in, I'm coming, too."

Not wanting to waste any more time quarreling with the stubborn boy, Remus nodded abruptly. "All right. You can come in, but hang back a bit. If there is an intruder still inside the shop, he could be dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt. Mr. Prince wouldn't either."

At first, Thaddeus looked as if he was going to argue, but he didn't, instead giving a somewhat reluctant nod.

Satisfied, Remus pushed the door open and stepped inside. He found himself in a tidy storeroom. A small fire crackled in the grate and above it, a cauldron of potion bubbled away pleasantly on a hook. Severus would never go off and leave a potion unattended over an open fire, so if he wasn't in the front room of the shop, something was most definitely wrong.

Glancing down at the floor, Remus noticed that the trail of dark, smudged marks and droplets ran straight across the storeroom to a curtained doorway that likely led into the front of the shop. Crossing the room quietly, he listened at the curtain but heard nothing, so he reached up, pushed the fabric aside and peered into shop's the front room.

The place was an astounding mess and Remus heard Thaddeus gasp from behind him. Broken shelving, smashed glassware, and the contents of many potion bottles and vials were strewn across what once must have been a clean, polished wood floor.

Thaddeus crept closer to Remus and stared at the mess in horror. "What happened? It looks like there was a fight or something," he whispered.

Remus placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Stay here. We don't want too many people tracking this mess around. Let me take a closer look. I have some experience with this sort of thing."

Thaddeus just nodded, and Remus released his shoulder, took a few careful steps into the room, and crouched down to examine the scene.

One whole section of display shelving was broken and had crashed to the floor along with its contents as if something, or someone, had been thrown against it. There were clear marks of a scuffle in the detritus on the floor, along with a chilling amount of blood.

Remus could see at least two sets of footprints in the mess. One set tracked bits of glass and the remains of potions over to the front door and back, then two sets of prints, along with a spattering of blood droplets, left the muddled mess on the floor and headed toward the back door of the shop. The mess itself held the impression of a body, and not one that seemed to correspond to either set of bloody footprints.

If he had to guess, he'd say that two people had entered the shop through the front door, attacked someone already in the shop, throwing them against the wall and bringing down the shelves and their contents on top of them. After a brief altercation, one of the intruders went back to the front door, to lock it perhaps, and then the two of them picked up the third man and left through the back of the shop. Considering that Severus was probably the injured man, it wasn't a scenario Remus particularly liked thinking about, but it seemed a likely explanation for what he was seeing.

It seemed even more likely when Remus extracted a crumpled, yellowing piece of newspaper from the mess and realized that the article displayed on it was an interview with Harry telling the whole world that Severus Snape wasn't a traitor at all but was actually a hero who'd risked his life for years spying on Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Remus doubted that Severus would carry the paper around with him or have it on display in his shop when he was in hiding, but as a motive for attack by disgruntled former Death Eaters who felt betrayed by one they had once called their own, it was first rate. Perhaps others far less friendly than he had also found clues to Severus' current whereabouts and had come to enact vengeance, bringing this with them to face Severus with evidence of what they saw as his crime.

As he let the newspaper drop back onto the floor, Remus' eye lit on something familiar lying half buried in the chaos. He reached out and picked it up. It was a wand…Severus' wand. He'd know it anywhere. Any small doubts that might have lingered in the deep recesses of his mind were swept away forever as he held up the small pliant rod, smeared with potions and blood.

Remus' fingers tightened around Severus' wand as cold fear clutched at his heart. All the signs pointed to an attack by a couple of escaped Death Eaters, and it was up to Remus to find him before they could do him any more harm. But how? He was a stranger here. He didn't have the vaguest idea where to even begin looking.

It was Thaddeus who gave him the clue. The boy had remained beside the curtained entrance to the room as he'd been told, but though he hadn't moved, he hadn't been idle. He'd been examining the scene as carefully as he could without actually going into the room, and he noticed the partially packed box on the counter that stood just to one side of the doorway and the quill that was poised on end beside it. As Remus examined the floor and picked up Severus' wand, Thaddeus took a couple of steps over to the counter and looked down at the half written delivery list that lay there on top of Severus' green notebook.

"Hey! Look at this," he exclaimed.

At the boy's shout, Remus got to his feet and came to join him. Thaddeus pointed to the list and the quill that was still busily recording every word spoken in the room. "Mr. Prince must have been making out the delivery list when whoever attacked him came in. The quill's still going. Look, it wrote down what they said."

Reaching out to still the quill and set it aside so he could examine the parchment beneath more closely, Remus smiled at the boy. "You're right, Thaddeus. Good thinking."

The two of them crowded together and read through the transcript of the attack quickly. It revealed a grim scenario that confirmed Remus' deepest fears, but it also gave a ray of hope. Remus turned to Thaddeus. "Do you know where Clyto's Cave is?"

"Sure. I can take you there. It's not too far from here. All the kids like to play there, though our parents don't want us to because at high tide it's all underwater. Pirates used to use it to hide treasure and kill people they didn't like. It's a really cool place."

It didn't sound so inviting to Remus, not when the one slated to meet his end there might be Severus, but he didn't waste time expressing his reservations.

Thaddeus' voice took on an edge of excitement as he asked, "Is it true what they said? Is Mr. Prince really Severus Snape the famous spy?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, he is, but we shouldn't waste time discussing that now. We need to get moving. Mr. Snape may not have much time left, so lead the way to this cave, Thaddeus, and take the shortest route you can."

Thaddeus blanched, nodded and headed toward the back door as fast as he could with Remus right behind him.

~~~o~~~

Severus blinked and tried to focus on his surroundings but found that took more effort than he could manage. So he gave up and let himself drift along on a tide of semi-consciousness. His surroundings blurred together and reality seemed very far away. Water lapped around his chest and spray randomly flicked at his face, jerking him back to momentary awareness whenever it hit. He couldn't feel his extremities any longer, which seemed like a good thing under the circumstances. Numbness was keeping the pain at bay, and considering the intensity of the pain he'd been in, setting it aside was very welcome indeed.

Suddenly a hand reached out of nowhere and slapped him viciously across the face. His head slammed back into the pillar of rock at his back and sharper focus was ruthlessly forced on him once again. Looking up, he found Ackland hip deep in water, staring down at him with a nasty grin on his face.

"No time for a nap, Snape. We wouldn't want you to miss the main event."

"Oh, no, that would be a tragedy, wouldn't it?" murmured Severus as fresh blood dripped down his face.

"Think you're funny, do you?"

"On the contrary, I see no point in wasting humor on those who haven't the wit to appreciate it," snarled Severus, recovering some of his anger as he recovered his faculties. "What do you want from me anyway, Ackland? Do you want me to admit to betraying you and your Master? Fine. I admit that I did my best to bring all of you down, and I succeeded. If that distresses you, I really couldn't care less.

"If you're waiting for me to cry and scream and plead for mercy, you'll have a very long wait. I'm well aware that mercy is beyond your capacity to feel, and I wouldn't waste my tears on the likes of you. Helping to bring about the fall of Voldemort is one of the best things I've ever done with my life. If losing that life is the price I have to pay for succeeding…well, I've always known that was likely to be the cost, and I accepted it long ago. I'm certainly not going to protest it now.

"Do your worst. In the end I'll be at peace, satisfied with the knowledge that I won and nothing you did could change that, while you'll be exactly where you are now, running from a world that hates you and that will no doubt catch up to you sooner or later."


	10. Chapter 10

After running what seemed like halfway around the island, Thaddeus and Remus broke out of a wooded thicket into an empty field that stretched out to a cliff overlooking the ocean. Remus pulled up short, staring around in confusion and trying to catch his breath. "Wait a minute, Thaddeus! I thought you said we were going to a cave."

Thaddeus stopped running and nodded, puffing slightly. "Yeah. We're almost there. The entrance is just over there." The boy pointed to a spot, seemingly no different from any other in the field near the edge of the cliff.

Remus stared at the waving grass and frowned. "I don't see anything…"

"No, you won't until you get really close to it. Lots of people find the cave by falling into it. From up here the entrance is just a hole in the ground. The other entrance looks more like a regular cave. It's down on the beach and goes into the side of the cliff, but it'll be underwater by now." The boy squinted out at the moving ocean. "In fact, most of the cave is probably flooded by now."

Remus didn't like the sound of that.

Noting Remus' grim expression, Thaddeus added, "The cave is sloped though. The top entrance will be okay for awhile longer, I think."

"All right. Point out just where this hole is, and then I want you to wait for me in the woods. These people are dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt. If they've really abducted Mr. Snape in order to kill him, they won't hesitate to kill you and me, too, to cover up their crime."

Remus stared soberly at Thaddeus and spoke in an earnest tone. He needed the boy to understand the seriousness of their position and obey him, and he knew from personal experience how difficult it could be sometimes to get a boy, caught up in the adventure of the moment, to behave sensibly. But he needn't have worried. With eyes big as moons, Thaddeus nodded and pointed off to their left. "The opening to the cave is just in front of those big rocks. You won't be able to see it because of all the grass until you're right next to it."

Remus nodded. "I'll have to watch my step then. Now, you duck down behind the bushes and watch. If I run into trouble, don't try to help me! Just go for help as fast as you can. Are there Aurors on the island?"

"Yes, we have our own Ministry of Magic here. There's an office in each town."

"Okay. If anything goes wrong, head for the nearest office and bring anyone you can back with you. Tell them we think the abductors are escaped Death Eaters, but don't mention that Mr. Prince is really Severus Snape. Most of the wizarding world thinks Snape's dead, and we can't chance them not believing you."

Thaddeus swallowed hard but nodded his agreement. "I promise," he whispered eagerly.

Remus smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Now duck down behind those bushes, and I'll try to find the entrance to the cave."

As the boy did as he was told, Remus began to pick his way carefully across the field, watching for the cave entrance. As he walked, he sharpened his hearing, straining to pick up the slightest hint of voices over the ever-present sounds of wind and waves. Just as he caught sight of the hole in the ground, he heard a snatch of sound that could only be a voice, and it definitely sounded as if it was coming from underground. Thaddeus was right. Although the entrance was a pretty large hole, from any distance it was virtually unnoticeable because of the tall grass that surrounded it.

Remus crept closer until he was crouched next to the hole itself. The sound of slightly echoing voices and the swish of churning water floated up to him on the ocean breeze. Only a few words were intelligible as the voices rose and fell like the tide. Even after listening carefully, he couldn't be sure how many voices he was hearing, though it was definitely more than one.

He realized that the only way he was going to be able to really tell what was going on down in the cave was to stick his head through the hole and see for himself. To minimize the risk of being spotted, he cast a Disillusionment spell on himself to help him blend in with his surroundings. That wouldn't make him any less solid, however, so he'd just have to hope that whoever was inside the cave was well occupied enough that they wouldn't notice when his body blocked out a substantial portion of the light filtering down through the hole. Nothing he could do but try, though, so clutching his wand tightly, he leaned down into the hole for a look around.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dimness and when they did, he was horrified at what he saw. A man crouched on the sloping floor of the cave, well above the rising water and held a glowing wand up to illuminate the scene in front of him. A second man, wand in hand, stood up to his hips in water as he taunted a third man, seated, who was tied to a rough spire of rock, leaning wearily against it while water swirled around him almost up to his chin.

Even from his position, dangling upside down partway through the hole, Remus immediately recognized the bound man as Severus. Though his hair was shorter than Remus had ever seen it, the turn of the man's head and the sharp angle of his pale shoulder against the rock pillar could belong to no one else. The man standing over his former lover with a wand and a surly sneer seemed vaguely familiar; Remus was pretty sure that he'd once been pointed out as being one of Voldemort's own.

As Remus shifted in order to bring his wand into a position where he could fire on the man standing in the water, a few pebbles fell down through the hole and clattered on the rocks below, drawing the attention of the nearer man. As the man turned to look, Remus pulled back out of the hole as quickly as he could, got to his feet, and ran for the tree line.

Once there, he dove into the bushes, pulling Thaddeus down with him, just as the man poked his head up out of the hole. As Remus and Thaddeus lay still under the cover of the thick brush, the man pulled himself out of the hole and sat on its edge looking around suspiciously.

A voice drifted up from below. "Do you see anything?"

The large man shook his head and glanced back down into the hole. "Naw. Must have been a bird or an animal. There's no one here."

"All right, then get back down here. Wouldn't want you to miss the main event."

The man chuckled nastily, slid back down into the hole and disappeared from sight.

As soon as the man vanished back underground, Remus turned to Thaddeus. "Go get the Aurors and bring them back as fast as you can. Those men have Mr. Snape tied to a spire of rock down there and they intend to kill him. I'll wait here. Go on! Hurry!"

Thaddeus jumped to his feet with a desperate nod and vanished into the undergrowth. As soon as the boy had gone, Remus got to his feet once more. Goodness knows how long it might take Thaddeus to bring backup, but time wasn't on Severus' side. He had to act now.

Without further thought, Remus ran back across the field and threw himself head first into the hole. Having previously judged the distance from the hole to the ledge, Remus had no difficulty landing easily and rolling himself up into a crouching position, wand extended. It only took him a moment to track his quarries. He knew they were there, after all, while his arrival took both of them by surprise.

His first shot hit Greene full in the face. The man fell like a stone statue with no more than a gasp of surprise. His wand, the only real illumination in the cave, fell into a tidal pool near his feet and its light vanished beneath the water. Remus swore under his breath at the sudden absence of light, realizing that even if Greene had been the closer Death Eater he probably would have done better to have taken out his partner first. The curse of hindsight.

Knowing he was now a target, Remus threw himself to one side. His instincts proved correct when a bolt of fiery red magic sizzled out of the darkness to blast at the rocks where he'd knelt a moment before. He swiftly returned fire but failed to hit his opponent in the gloom of the heavily shadowed cavern.

Crouching behind a bit of jagged rock, he scanned the dim cave, listening carefully for sounds of movement but hearing only lapping waves. Light filtering up through the water threw strange shimmering reflections on the walls and ceiling of the cave yet most of the area remained in deep shadow. Rocks, crevices and the water itself provided excellent places for a man to hide unfortunately.

Remus called out, "Severus, you all right?" Not only did he need to know the answer, but he also hoped that hearing his voice might lure his opponent into betraying his position by taking a shot at him.

Severus' voice, sounding both weary and impatient, came back from the center of the cavern to the accompaniment of sloshing water. "Oh, never better. Your timing needs work, Lupin."

Remus couldn't help but smile to hear that voice he'd missed so much. "Nonsense. My timing is impeccable. You said so yourself."

"Hmmmph…I must have been drunk at the time." Severus sounded as if he was spitting out mouthfuls of water with every word. "I'd appreciate it if you could speed this up a bit. It's getting a trifle damp over here."

Suddenly, a bolt of magic sliced in front of Remus' face, singing his hair and almost taking his head off. "I am trying," he muttered as he returned fire immediately, resulting in a rapid exchange of spellfire with neither opponent quite able to gain the upper hand.

Then, without warning, another figure hurtled down through the entrance hole to land in a crouch in the cave's only pool of daylight. As this second opponent appeared, Ackland shifted his focus to him and lost. Remus, expecting reinforcements, leaped up quickly and covered half the distance to Ackland's hiding place before the man could possibly recover, by the time he returned his focus to Remus it was too late. He was swiftly stunned and disarmed.

The Auror moved out of the light and aimed his wand at Remus, the only person left standing. "Disable your Disillusionment spell and drop your wand," the man insisted firmly.

Remus straightened up as much as he could with the low ceiling and deactivated the spell. Then he lowered his wand, though he didn't discard it. "My name is Remus Lupin. I'm the one who sent young Thaddeus to get help."

"Do you have some identification on you?" the man asked suspiciously. Remus couldn't really blame him for not knowing who to trust, but they didn't have time to waste at the moment.

Remus nodded and gave as much weight to his words as he could. "I do, but my friend is tied to that column of rock over there and since the water is just about to cover him over, I'm going to go and untie him. We can exchange information after I'm done." Then without waiting to see if the Auror agreed or not, he turned and waded into the water.

Just as he reached Severus, a second figure dropped down through the entrance hole and joined the watching Auror. Remus ignored them both and concentrated on Severus who was lying back against the rock with his eyes closed, using all his energy to keep his broken and swollen nose above the water line.

Remus swiftly cut his bonds and as carefully as he could, he moved Severus out of the water until he could lay the man down on a section of cavern floor that hadn't yet been flooded with seawater. He conjured up a ball of floating light so he could examine Severus for injuries that would need swift attention. Finding nothing that was immediately life threatening, he removed his own robe, cast quick drying and warming spells on it, and wrapped Severus's abused body in its folds. As he embraced the weak, shivering man, Severus' eyes opened once more and gazed intently at his rescuer.

"So I wasn't hallucinating. You really came."

Remus smiled. "Of course I came."

Severus snorted sharply. "Took you long enough."

Remus shook his head and his smile broadened. Same old Severus and thank goodness. "You aren't an easy man to find, you know."

A faint smile crossed Severus' pale face. "Of course not. What's life without challenge?"

Remus nodded. "Very true. Now lie still. We need to get you to a Healer."

"No." Severus' voice was insistent. "Just take me home. I have everything I'll need there. They didn't do any permanent damage. I'll be fine."

"You're sure?"

Severus simply glared up at Remus silently.

Rubbing the back of his head, Remus nodded. "Right. Stupid question."

While Remus was examining Severus, the Aurors tied up and removed the Death Eaters from the cave. Now one of them returned and stood nearby still looking vaguely suspicious. "Can he be moved?"

"Well, I certainly don't intend to remain in this damp cave all day," Severus said sharply, turning his glare on the Auror.

Remus suppressed a grin. "I can levitate him out through the hole if that's all right with you."

The Auror shook his head. "I'll do it. You go on up first, if you would, and present your identification to my partner."

Nodding his agreement, Remus squeezed Severus' shoulder encouragingly before getting up and moving over to the cave entrance. Then he jumped up, snagged the side of the hole and pulled himself up into the late morning sunshine.

As he got to his feet in the grassy field, Thaddeus Copter came running over to him. "Mr. Lupin! Were we in time?" Then he glanced at the nearby Auror and lowered his voice. "Is Mr. Snape going to be okay?"

Remus smiled down at Thaddeus. "Yes, Thaddeus, thanks to you, I think he's going to be fine. You were just in time. Couldn't have been better, in fact."

The boy smiled with pride and relief.

The second Auror, having finished securing his prisoners, came up to them just then, identified himself as Auror Landers and asked Remus for his identification. While Remus satisfied him as to his identity, the Auror from the cave, whose name turned out to be Grey, settled Severus gently on the grass nearby.

Auror Landers handed Remus back his papers. "Well, everything seems to be in order, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Copter has identified you as the man who was helping him look for his boss. Do you happen to know who his assailants are? You told the boy you suspected they were Death Eaters." Landers' tone indicated that he was fairly skeptical of that claim.

Severus spoke up suddenly. "They are Death Eaters. Their names are Mortimer Greene and Jake Ackland. I imagine they're on some wanted list you no doubt have pinned to a wall at your office."

Ackland, who'd regained consciousness to find himself trussed up like a fowl ready for the oven, glared at Severus angrily. "We aren't the only Death Eaters here! Check _Prince's_ arm. He's a Death Eater, too!"

Grey and Landers looked at each other for a moment and then both of them turned to Severus. With a sigh, Severus wearily lifted his arm and, sliding back the sleeve of Remus' robe, he exposed the faded tattoo that was all that was left of the Dark Mark since Voldemort's death.

Before the Aurors could respond, Remus spoke up. "Don't listen to them. This is just the last desperate move of the terminally stupid. The man known locally as Marcus Prince isn't a Death Eater. He's Severus Snape. He spied on the Dark Lord for years masquerading as a Death Eater, which is why these two were after him. Surely you know the story; it was splashed all over the front page of every edition of the Daily Prophet several months back."

"Wish I'd known that," muttered Severus in annoyance.

"This is Snape?" Landers looked slightly dubious. "I thought he was dead."

"That was the idea," Severus continued in the same tone.

"Yes, this is Snape," exclaimed Remus. "If he was merely an ordinary Death Eater, do you really think they'd have been torturing him this way?"

Grey addressed Severus directly. "If you're Snape, why are you hiding out under an assumed name? You were cleared of all charges. They even granted you an Order of Merlin. Posthumously they thought."

Severus stared at the man as if he was an idiot. "Privacy. For years I gave my entire life over to fighting the Dark Lord. Now that he's finally gone, I just want to be left alone. Surely you can understand that?"

Grey frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess so. I heard that Harry Potter can't go anywhere at all without being mobbed by grateful people. It's a tough way to live, I suppose." He didn't seem completely convinced that fame had its down side, but he was willing to concede that it might be the case.

"The price of fame," Remus added. "So you understand then."

The Aurors nodded. "Sure. I suppose. Take care of Mr. Snape. These two won't trouble him again. We'll see to it."

"Thank you," Remus smiled warmly at Severus. "I'll do my best."


	11. Chapter 11

With a weary sigh, Remus sat down in one of Severus' kitchen chairs and took a sip from his teacup. It had taken a long time to settle Severus comfortably in bed and heal his injuries. He didn't have a huge amount of faith that their healing had been completely successful, but hopefully time and some good restful sleep would help a lot.

Oh, the man's nose was no longer broken, his ribs were mended, and all his wounds were closed, but neither of them was a true expert in the use of healing spells, and Remus was pretty sure that Severus had some deep, internal bruising that would take a fairly long time to properly heal. He knew enough healing magic to determine that although those injuries weren't life threatening, that didn't mean they wouldn't remain painful and somewhat debilitating for far longer than they would if they'd been treated by someone who really knew what he was doing.

He'd feel a lot better if Severus had consented to see a real Healer, but the man was eternally stubborn. He'd never enjoyed being poked and prodded, even when he trusted the person doing the prodding, as he did Poppy Pomfrey, and he'd been adamant that there was no one here he felt comfortable allowing to treat him. So Remus had no choice but to agree. He didn't like it much though.

A sudden noise caused Remus to raise his head from his cup to see Severus standing in the kitchen doorway looking a bit unsteady on his feet and staring intently at him. His bathrobe hung open, revealing a tantalizing line of dark hair that marched down his naked chest to disappear into the waistband of his pajamas. Remus' eyes instinctively followed after it until the crisp tone of Severus' voice brought him back to reality. "I see you're making yourself at home…"

Snapping back to attentiveness, Remus jumped to his feet and came forward to grasp Severus' slightly trembling arm in a firm supportive grip. "Severus, what do you think you're doing out of bed? You should be sleeping. Your body needs to recover from all the abuse that was heaped on it this morning. Spells and potions alone, no matter how well made, aren't enough; you need to rest. Come on, back to bed with you."

"No. Don't fuss," said Severus testily. "We need to talk."

"We can talk later, once you've had a chance to recover. I'm not going anywhere," said Remus firmly.

Severus clutched Remus' arm and looked into his eyes for a long moment before responding. "I'll heal just as well sitting up as lying down. I can't sleep. Not now. And there's no reason why we can't talk while I rest."

Remus hesitated for a moment before nodding his agreement. Severus was right, they did need to talk, yet somehow, now that the time had finally come, Remus found he was a bit nervous about it. "All right, but you still need to get back into bed."

"The sofa will do. It's perfectly comfortable," said Severus, as he pulled away from Remus, wrapped his robe more tightly around himself and walked carefully into the sitting room.

With a sigh of resignation, Remus followed. "All right, the sofa then, just as long as you get off your feet and rest."

Remus settled Severus comfortably on the sofa with a pillow at his back, a blanket over his knees, and his bare feet up on a padded footstool then he sat down beside him, not quite knowing how to begin their talk and was grateful when Severus did it for him.

"How did you find me?"

Remus smiled and reached into an inner pocket of his robe for the photograph and postcard that he found at Severus' house. His fingers brushed against the tattered potions book he'd taken from Severus' possessions at Hogwarts, so he took that out as well. Handing the card and photograph over to their rightful owner, he said, "I followed the clues you set down."

Severus took the items Remus offered and turned them over in his hands while an expression of satisfaction crossed his face. "I hoped these clues would be sufficient; I didn't want to make my whereabouts too obvious. Not that my caution did me any good." He scowled as he recalled how annoyed he'd been to discover that his supposedly safe and secure hiding place was really anything but.

"How did Greene and Ackland find you anyway? Any idea?" asked Remus curiously.

"Yes, apparently Greene either grew up here or has family here. They came for the same reason I did, to hide out, and must have recognized me sometime when we passed in town, despite my attempts to alter my appearance. Unfortunately, though they obviously saw me, I never saw them. My usual turn of luck."

Remus nodded toward Severus' hair. "I'm a bit surprised they recognized you so easily. This is definitely a different look than I've ever seen on you. Do you plan to leave it this way?"

Severus lifted a hand and ran it through his closely cropped thatch of dark hair. "I haven't thought about it. I suppose I don't need to." His scowl deepened. "The reasons for altering my appearance no longer apply. There's certainly no point in hiding any longer. By tomorrow everyone will know that I'm still alive and exactly where to find me."

"Are you worried that you'll be attacked again? You always did have a knack for making enemies." Remus smiled sympathetically.

Severus shot him a sharp glance. "It's definitely a possibility, but hopefully a small one. Surely there can't be too many others who escaped the net and would be so reckless as to put themselves at risk by openly attacking me. However, I'll be much more on my guard now. I'm more concerned at losing my privacy. Who knows how many will come to gawk at the _"spy"_ now that everyone knows I survived. And what if the Ministry decides to press charges against me for something after all? It's easy to pardon a dead man, there'd be little point in doing anything else, but now that they know I'm alive, who knows what they'll do."

"I really don't think you have anything to worry about, Severus. They awarded you an Order of Merlin, first class, you know. Harry laid the praise on pretty thick when he discussed the memories you gave him and what you really did to bring down Voldemort. I think you're more likely to be mobbed by adoring fans than detractors."

Severus found he couldn't decide whether to feel smug or disgruntled at that thought so he settled on a little of both. "Either way, my peaceful life will be ruined."

"Not for long. Even Harry doesn't get as much attention as he used to. People will be interested to learn you're alive, of course. The press will probably want to interview you, but I'll bet any furor that results won't last very long. Voldemort's been dead for months now. People are trying to move on with their lives."

"I hope you're right," said Severus.

Silence awkwardly filled the space between them. Then Severus nodded at the book Remus still held in his hand. "What else have you got there? I didn't leave a third clue."

Remus gave him the book. "It's not really a clue. I found it when I went to Hogwarts. Minerva let me look through your belongings for anything that might tell me where you'd gone. When I came across the book in a pocket, I decided to keep it and return it to you if I was successful in my search. It was just an impulse really." He paused and added, "Minerva was very glad to know that you're still alive. She told me to tell you she wishes you well. She's sorry for how she treated you last year."

Severus nodded, keeping his eyes on the worn little book as he turned it over and over in his hands. "Minerva shouldn't feel bad. She did exactly what I needed her to do. If she hadn't treated me just as she did, I wouldn't be sitting here with you now."

He held up the book and raised his eyes to Remus, a faint smile on his lips. "It's interesting you should choose to return this to me. This book was another thing that allowed me to keep on living. The information it contains enabled me to formulate a potion to counteract Nagini's venom. Of course, I wasn't absolutely sure I'd need it, but it seemed a prudent thing to do. As things turned out, I was very glad I did. Your gift saved my life. Just as you saved it again today. It seems I owe you my life twice over."

"I'm just glad I got to you in time," said Remus. "And I didn't do it alone. Your young employee made all the difference. He kept his head, showed me where you were being held, went for the Aurors. Really, without his help, I seriously doubt I would have found you in time."

Severus agreed. "Mr. Copter is a resourceful young man, both ambitious and bright. If he goes off to Hogwarts as he hopes, I wouldn't be surprised to see him sorted into Slytherin."

Remus grinned. "Well, if saving the life of the longtime Head of that House counts for anything, I wouldn't be surprised if you were right." His eyes sparkled mischievously as he watched Severus. "Of course, the boy displayed real bravery, too. Perhaps he'd do better in Gryffindor."

Severus snorted shortly but refused to rise to the bait and silence fell between them again.

Now that Remus was finally face to face with Severus once more, he suddenly felt like an awkward teenager again, a bit tongue-tied and far too slow-witted. He wondered if Severus was feeling the same way. He didn't seem any more comfortable with their conversation than Remus was.

"So, now that you've found me, what do you want?" asked Severus.

Remus stared at Severus and tried to come up with a coherent answer. What did he want? He wanted to know why Severus had been there when he'd awakened and if he had anything to do with his still being alive. He wanted to know the real reason that Severus broke things off between them. He also wanted to know what Severus' life had been like since he left Britain. What he was thinking and feeling right now. He wanted to _know_ him again, to touch him again, to find the ineffable something that was missing in his own life when Severus wasn't a part of it. He'd looked for it in so many other places, in so many other eyes, but now, gazing once more into Severus' dark eyes, he knew there was only one answer to that question.

"You," he said simply. "I…just needed to see you again. To know that you were really alive and well, that I hadn't imagined seeing you after the battle at Hogwarts."

Relief flooded through Severus at Remus' answer, and his body relaxed into the sofa cushions. Perhaps things really were going to be all right after all. "I'm not surprised you wondered if I was real or not. You definitely weren't yourself."

"That's putting it mildly. I was distraught, half out of my mind with grief, still so groggy that I could hardly stand." He shook his head and gazed earnestly at Severus. "But that's no excuse for my behavior. I shouldn't have blamed you for any of it. I need to apologize for that."

"Nonsense. You still thought of me as the enemy. Logically, I shouldn't have expected you to respond any other way," said Severus, remembering how irrationally disappointed he'd been when all Remus seemed to be able to think about was his dead wife. It might have made perfect sense under the circumstances, but it still hurt.

"But you were hoping I might?" asked Remus, reading something of Severus' thoughts in his eyes.

Severus looked away and hesitated, allowing silence to stretch out and fill the space between them.

"Did you really mean it?" Remus asked quietly, finally breaking the silence.

"Mean what?" Severus frowned in puzzlement.

"The last time we were together before the battle, when you called me a mangy, worthless monster. When you told me I'd never meant anything to you. When you told me you never wanted to lay eyes on me again."

Severus mentally winced to hear those hated words repeated to him. Those words he'd had to force himself to say. "No…I didn't."

"Then why did you say it?" asked Remus.

Severus shrugged slightly and began to speak in a soft tone. "Think back to what was happening then. You were off to persuade the werewolves to forsake the Dark Lord's siren call. A fruitless task if ever there was one, may I add."

Remus grimaced but didn't disagree.

"I was ever more in the Dark Lord's company, constantly having to allay his suspicions. Then Albus, in his hubris, did something monumentally stupid and got himself injured. An injury that he wasn't going to be able to survive. I was forced into a position where I had to make a vow that I knew could only end badly. It was a time when I finally had to cross a line that I knew in my heart I couldn't return from. The path I had to take to see things through was dark and narrow and full of pitfalls, and there was no place in my life for anyone else to walk it with me. My focus had to be totally on the attaining of a single goal. It could no longer be split.

"Circumstances were forcing actions on me that I felt you'd never understand or forgive, and keeping you in my heart, in my thoughts, would only be a danger for both of us. To keep you safe, I had to be alone. To get you to believe me, I had to be brutal. There didn't seem to be any other choice. I'm sorry."

As he listened to Severus' words, Remus felt warmth begin to spread through him as if this was the moment when he truly returned to life, not months ago on that table at Hogwarts.

"Severus, when I woke up at Hogwarts, you were standing there watching me, almost as if you expected me to be alive. Everyone else was sure I was dead, why would you think differently? Harry even said he remembered speaking to me along with his dead parents and Sirius. It seems as if I was almost dead. I vaguely remember trying to follow the others on to wherever they were going, but something pulled me back. Was that something you?"

"You don't remember anything except waking up and seeing me there?" asked Severus.

Remus got to his feet and crossed the small room to stare blindly out the window towards the sea, thinking hard. He'd been over and over that time in his mind, but very little of it made real sense even after all this time. It was like trying to recall the details of a dream. It felt as if they were lurking in the back of his mind just beyond his grasp, but when he tried to focus on them, they faded away into slightly uncomfortable feelings, nothing more. "Nothing I can be sure of."

"You haven't figured it out?"

Remus shook his head and turned away from the window to look back at Severus. "No, I truly don't understand what happened to me. Do you?"

Severus sighed. For some reason, this was harder than he thought it would be. "Before I answer your question, answer one for me. Why did you marry Nymphadora Tonks?"

Remus fought a sudden wave of sadness, and he dropped his eyes to study the floor. His voice went very soft. "I did love Dora, Severus. I wouldn't have married her if I didn't."

Severus closed his eyes for a brief moment. He'd come to realize that, to accept it, though it hurt more than he thought it would to hear Remus actually say it, but it wasn't the whole answer, so he simply remained quiet and waited, knowing that Remus would keep on talking to fill the silence if nothing else.

Now it was Remus' turn to sigh. "And…I was lonely. I missed having someone in my life. Someone to love and be with. When you broke it off with me, I was devastated. You'd been the focus of my heart for what felt like forever. Alone, I was lost and adrift for a long time.

"I didn't want to feel that way anymore. Dora was there; she loved me so much, and I could see how much my continuing rejection was hurting her. I didn't want to hurt her. I'd always cared about her, and she made it so easy to turn that affection into something deeper. When someone loves you that passionately, it's hard not to love them back. So since I couldn't ha…" He paused and gasped faintly as he realized what he was about to say. Then he looked up, staring straight into Severus' eyes.

"Since I couldn't have you, I took the love that was offered to me and tried my best to honor it. It was a mistake. I know that now, but at the time, it seemed possible that I could make it work."

Severus nodded. He realized that he'd always known that was the answer, but he needed to hear it from Remus himself. "It seems we both did what we felt we had to do."

"I suppose so."

Remus returned to the sofa and sat down again, his eyes still fixed on Severus. "You still haven't answered my question. Do I have you to thank for my life?"

Severus expelled a sharp breath and nodded. "During the battle, I overheard a conversation between a couple of Death Eaters that made me suspect that you hadn't been hit with the killing curse after all, but instead, had been brought down by the much rarer Sleeping Beauty curse."

Remus' eyebrows climbed his forehead in surprise. "The Sleeping Beauty curse?"

Severus raised an eyebrow of his own. "Surely so esteemed a former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as yourself has heard of it?"

The playfully sarcastic tone in Severus' voice made Remus laugh. "Yes, of course, I've heard of it, but I've never known it to actually be used before. What made you suspect…I mean…how?"

Severus shrugged, he didn't want to bring Remus more pain by bringing up Tonks' death once more. "It really doesn't matter what they said, suffice it to say that they caught my attention and made me wonder. Once they'd aroused my suspicions, I couldn't just forget about it. If I was right, then you weren't really dead, and I couldn't just leave you like that, caught in some twilight state, neither alive nor truly dead. Granted, if your wife was indeed your true love then nothing I could do would save you, but if there was even the slightest chance that she wasn't…then I had to try."

The Sleeping Beauty curse! Just the thought of what that meant brought warmth to Remus' smile. "So that means you're my true love."

Severus grimaced slightly. He'd accepted that fact in his private heart, but discussing it openly with Remus this way still felt a bit embarrassing. Sentiment wasn't something he was comfortable expressing. It never had been and likely never would be. "Apparently so, though I realize that I don't exactly fit the classic image of Prince Charming."

"I don't know about that. You always have to me," Remus murmured as he leaned closer and his leg brushed against Severus' thigh. The contact was electric, sending a jolt of sudden desire through his entire body. Gently he reached out and slipped his fingers beneath the edge of Severus' robe, sliding his hand upward, caressing the pale skin ever so lightly, before resting his palm flat against Severus' breast where he could feel the man's heart pounding madly.

As the very air surrounding them suddenly shivered with tension, Severus raised his hand and slowly stroked it along the sharp curve of Remus' cheek and down over the slightly bristled side of his jaw, then as one they reached for each other, melting together into a kiss that was all the sweeter for having been so long delayed.

Remus slid nearer, wrapping his arms more tightly around Severus' slender body, pressing them together so close that it felt as if they were two halves of the same being, deepening their kiss.

Severus slid his hands through Remus' hair and lost himself in the intoxicating sensations of once more being in the arms of the man he loved. He'd dreamed of it, longed for it, spent months telling himself that he could live without it only to have the reality of it prove to him just how much of a lie that really was.

Desire flared brighter and Remus tore Severus' robe open, pressing him more firmly down into the cushions of the couch; Severus stiffened abruptly, wincing as a sudden sharp pain stabbed through his ribcage in response to his lover's weight.

Suddenly filled with self-reproach, Remus pulled back instantly. "Damn it! Severus, I'm so sorry! Here I am letting my lust run away with me, and you aren't even properly healed yet! What was I thinking?"

As Remus pulled away, Severus reached out and grabbed his hand. He'd waited so long for this moment he wasn't about to let a little temporary physical weakness get in his way. "No," Severus groaned, "It's all right."

"No, it isn't!" exclaimed Remus firmly. "I don't want to hurt you. We'll have plenty of time for this later, after you've recovered."

Severus frowned and pulled Remus' hand across his lap, pressing it against his aching groin so that Remus could feel the hardness of his erection beneath the light material of his pajamas. Then he stared deeply into those clear amber eyes and spoke in a strained voice.

"Listen to me. I don't want to wait any longer. We've already waited for years. That's time we'll never get back. I've wasted too much of my life putting off what I really want so I could pay off debts, meet obligations, and do the bidding of others. I refuse to continue to put off what's really important. Another day, another hour, another minute is too long."

Remus froze; crouching over Severus' body, the man's cock pulsing against the palm of his hand reignited a similar thrum in his own groin. "All right," he whispered, licking suddenly dry lips. "But I won't do anything to further injure you. Just lie back. Leave everything to me this time."

Severus opened his mouth to argue further, gauged the fierce look of determination on Remus' face and subsided, leaning back against the cushions without another word. With a satisfied smile at Severus' compliance, Remus slipped off the sofa and knelt in front of his love. Gently he reached out and pushed the two halves of the man's robe further apart, caressing the smooth skin beneath ever so gently. Then he leaned down and pressed his face against Severus' chest, lightly kissing the newly healed slash marks still faintly visible on the pale, taut flesh. Ever so slowly, he ran his tongue down that always tempting line of soft, dark hair, pausing to run it firmly around the rim of Severus' navel before plunging inside and out in a quicksilver move that caused Severus' stomach to turn over.

Severus groaned and closed his eyes, slipping his fingers into Remus' hair and fondling it lightly, as his lover's lips and tongue continued their downward journey. Remus slid slightly trembling fingers into the waistband of Severus' pajama bottoms and with one quick jerk, pulled the trousers down over well-shaped legs and slightly knobby knees, letting the silky fabric pool up on the floor over Severus' feet.

Then Remus turned his attention to Severus' cock. Purple and swollen with need, it trembled and twitched temptingly in front of his face. With a smile, he stuck out his tongue and licked it. At that one small contact, Severus gasped and moaned, turning his head against the pillows of the sofa and grasping more tightly at Remus' hair.

"Don't torture me, Lupin! Suck it! Now!" he groaned.

He didn't have to ask again. Remus opened his mouth and took him in all the way. As Severus let out a hissing sigh and his hands clenched convulsively, Remus began to slide his mouth slowly up and down the length of the long shaft, swirling his moist, flexible tongue around it, using its tip to trace every vein, tease every bump. Reveling in the familiar smell and taste of his lover's body, he gradually increased his rhythm, moving up and down, pausing at the top of his arc to suck at the soft spongy tip before plunging back to the bottom once more.

As he used his mouth to good effect, he massaged Severus' balls in their sac with his left hand, squeezing lightly in time to his movement and running a finger back along the firm skin at their base.

"Oh, gods, Remus…yes! That's what I want! Yesssss!" gasped Severus as he writhed against the cushions, bucking up to meet Remus' every downward thrust.

As Severus' excitement mounted, Remus could feel his own need increasing, and he slid his free hand inside his trousers to pump his own pulsing cock. As Severus cried out his exultation to the ceiling above, coming in Remus' eager mouth, Remus barely managed to swallow the flood of warm milky fluid before his own orgasm forced him to add his voice to Severus' and he came all over his hand, soaking his clothing with a sudden, satisfying release of wet warmth.

Remus collapsed against Severus, his head pillowed on Severus' stomach, and the two of them lay together, caressing each other gently while their breathing slowed and reason gradually returned. Finally, Remus lifted his head and smiled a lazy, satisfied smile at Severus, who raised an eyebrow and remarked, "I do like it when you follow directions."

Chuckling softly, Remus pulled his wand from the pocket of his trousers and cast a cleaning spell on himself, Severus' knees and the front of the sofa before pulling himself up onto the couch as Severus pulled his pajama bottoms back up into place. Then the two of them cuddled together, pleasantly tired and content.

"So what now?" asked Remus softly.

"Now? Now I suggest you plan to move in here permanently, and we can create a new life together, something I think we both deserve after all we've gone through for others, don't you?"

Remus nodded, but he didn't say anything and Severus felt a sudden twinge of apprehension. "That is what you want, isn't it? To be together?"

"Yes, Severus, that's what I want more than anything," Remus said reassuringly, "But…"

"But?" Severus held his breath as a trickle of uneasiness crept down his spine.

"I can't stay away from England forever. I have a tie there I can't just abandon," explained Remus.

Severus released his breath and relaxed again. Of course, how foolish of him to have forgotten. "Your son," Severus murmured in understanding, relief evident in his voice.

Pulling himself up a bit straighter, he looked thoughtfully at Remus. "Well, if we make our relationship official, and if, as you suggest, the authorities are more ready to praise me than throw me in prison, then perhaps you could make another appeal to the court. A permanent home, a stable relationship, and reliable access to the Wolfsbane potion should help to settle some of the professed doubts of the Ministry."

Remus nodded, seeming a bit less sure. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe it would make a difference."

"Oh, I think it would, especially if we handle the publicity better this time around. Your real problem the last time wasn't so much your personal circumstances, which were no more precarious than those of many other successful petitioners, as it was the way your case was presented. You allowed Andromeda and the fear-mongers to set the tone. Your custody battle was presented to the court and the public as ' _caring grandmother takes child away from **werewolf**_ '. Naturally you lost. It played straight to everyone's fears instead of their sympathies."

Severus shook his head. "No, we need to present it differently this time. ' _Heartless woman takes child away from **his father**_ ' would be much more accurate and have great emotional appeal at the same time."

"Perhaps…" said Remus, still slightly doubtful that any amount of sympathy for his situation would make people forget he was a werewolf.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Lupin, I know a lot about manipulating people. Trust me on this. We might even be able to turn the expected onslaught of publicity over my being alive to your advantage."

"How so?" asked Remus.

"You were the one who discovered that I was still alive and then pursued the matter with diligence until you found me. Something no one else has been able to do."

Remus smiled. "Well, no one else had the advantage of being left specific clues that pointed to your whereabouts, either."

Severus waved that detail away. "Irrelevant. No one needs to know that I left any clues for you to find. As far as the public knows, you alone possessed the wit and resourcefulness to realize I was alive and track me down. Which isn't far from the truth anyway, it's not as if I left great flaming signs that anyone could read.

"Then once you found me, you showed the same bravery you exhibited during the war in rescuing me from certain death at the hands of Death Eaters. The public will eat it up. You'll be front page news, the brave but tragic hero who so recently had his son taken from him by his heartless former mother-in-law and the unfeeling courts."

Remus laughed. "Don't you think that's a bit much?"

Severus shrugged. "Not at all. You know what the press is like. No matter how sensational or salacious a situation is, they can always be counted on to exaggerate things. It will put you back in the public eye in a favorable light, and we can use that to our advantage."

Remus nodded, touched that Severus seemed to view his loss of Teddy as their problem rather than simply his problem.

"Oh, one other thing…" Severus raised an eyebrow. "This time, instead of allowing the court to frown dubiously at the help you received from your supportive, but unnamed friends, name them. Surely the names Potter, Weasley and Granger count for something at the moment. Make use of their status as heroes before people learn what they're really like and stop being impressed. Why on earth didn't you do that before? Surely you're aware it could only have helped you."

Remus shrugged. "I didn't want to exploit my friends. Dragging them through a nasty court battle seemed a bleak reward for all they'd done for me, and I foolishly thought that the fact that I'm Teddy's father would be all I'd really need to secure custody. A part of me kept hoping that Andromeda would change her mind, too, and come to realize that taking my child away from me wouldn't bring her own child back."

"Hmmm." Severus shook his head but his voice was soft with understanding. "Your typical, naïve nobility, of course. I thought as much." After a brief pause, he continued more briskly, "Well, we won't make that mistake again. This time things will go differently. I guarantee it."

Remus smiled at Severus, pleased to see color flooding his cheeks and the light of battle in his eyes. The man thrived on challenge, which was one of the reasons that being in his company was always so…stimulating. "That sounds like an excellent plan."

"Of course it does. Together, I'm certain we'll succeed." Severus' eyes glittered. "Also, I must confess that I find a fair amount of satisfaction in the idea of defeating the _Noble_ House of Black on yet another field of battle."

"Thank you, Severus. This means a lot to me," said Remus sincerely.

The gleam in Severus' eyes became more pronounced. "Well, if you'd like to thank me some more, I suggest we move to the bedroom. I'm sure that you can find a few other things you can do that will please me and won't cause any damage to my rather ill-timed injuries."

Remus smiled and leaned forward to kiss his lover. "I'll do my best."

Severus returned the smile. "Of that, I have no doubt at all."


End file.
